Advertise in NEA Today and your organization will reach over 2.5 million NEA members. No other education publication reaches so many teachers and school personnel. For more information contact:

Richard Datz

4 Kennibie Drive
Marlton, NJ  08053
856.983.7199
rdatz@educationworld.com

State Report

February 2005 Table of Contents Cover Story Can All Your Kids Read? Features 'Hands Off, Heads Inside!' A Better IDEA 'She's My Mental Health' No Laughing Matter Departments Spotlight ESP Health & Fitness Bulletin Board People Last Bell Editor's Note President's Viewpoint Up Front Leading the Way State Report Debate Resources Books by NEA Members Reader Services Weigh in on Debate Topics Change your address Write a letter View past issues Check out our bonus edition

Advertise in NEA Today!

Strike Three for Vouchers

Florida In an 8-5-1 decision, the First District Court of Appeal ruled that a 1999 voucher law, allowing students from struggling public schools to attend private or religious schools with taxpayer money, violates the state constitution. This is the third court defeat for the so-called "A+" voucher program. It's now up to the state Supreme Court to decide if it will review this case—launched by the Florida Education Association and other pro-public education groups.

School Funding Suit Pays Off

Montana The Montana Supreme Court ruled that the state's education finance system is not based on "educationally relevant factors" and fails to "adequately fund" Montana's public schools. And, to ice the cake, the court has found the state in violation of its constitution for showing "no commitment in its education goals to the preservation of Indian cultural identity." The court-ordered deadline to fix this mess: October 1.

The lawsuit leading to this decision was filed by the Montana Quality Education Coalition, which includes MEA-MFT.

A Knockout in Atlantic City

New Jersey For several months last year, state Education Commissioner William L. Librera blocked a union contract ratified by 700 teachers in the state-monitored Irvington school district. A big mistake. Irvington Education Association (IEA) members, backed by legal pressure from the New Jersey Education Association, wrote to legislators, picketed state Department of Education offices in three cities, and finally confronted Librera at the NJEA convention in Atlantic City on November 4.

That faceoff broke the deadlock. On November 15, Librera announced release of funds to pay for the Irvington contract.  Says IEA President Madeline Edwards, "We were united all the way, and winning was the only acceptable outcome."

Big District Breaks the Law

Massachusetts In the state's second-largest city, the Massachusetts Labor Relations Commission (MLRC) found "probable cause" for prohibited labor practices complaints filed by the Springfield Education Association (SEA) against the school committee. The MLRC has scheduled formal hearings in February on the complaints, which charge Springfield negotiators with "regressive" bad-faith bargaining, unilateral imposition of health care contract provisions, and refusal to vote on a tentative agreement with SEA.

A State Without Settlements 

Michigan In December, the Michigan Education Association reported that 124 of its teacher and education support professional (ESP) bargaining units were without new contracts for more than a year. Heading the list: teacher and ESP members of the Lakewood Education Association (LEA), who have been battling for a new agreement since June 2003. The school board has rejected LEA proposals that would save the district money in tough fiscal times.

The Lakewood board's own proposal: close elementary schools while granting the superintendent a 3 percent raise in each of three years.

Sunnier News from the South

Mississippi Members of the Mississippi Association of Educators (MAE) made their presence felt in the 2004 legislative session through phone calls, e-mails, letters, and visits to lawmakers. Their hard work won an 8 percent raise for teachers and assistant teachers and full funding for health insurance costs—with a $30 million increase. And MAE will keep up the momentum in the 2005 session, lobbying for everything from full funding of the state education program to due process for teacher assistants.

Union is Legal on Campus

Washington Professors at Eastern Washington University (EWU) have become the second faculty group in the state to formally unionize under a higher education bargaining law passed in 2002. By a margin of 338–46, the EWU faculty voted in November to let the United Faculty of Eastern (UFE) continue to represent them in bargaining. Previous contracts were "voluntary" agreements between UFE and campus administrators; now UFE is the official, legal representative for Eastern faculty. UFE is affiliated with both NEA and the American Federation of Teachers.

Shut Up and Sit Down

Alabama Last autumn, Cindy Naylor and other teachers visited a Mobile County school board meeting to complain about excessive paperwork and student testing. The teacher applause during Naylor's remarks to the board so angered board President Lonnie Parsons that he ordered Naylor to stop talking and sit down. He then called a special meeting for the next morning—when teachers would be in class.

Helped by the Alabama Education Association, Naylor sued the board, charging it with violating her free speech rights. Mobile County Circuit Court Judge Rusty Johnson ordered the board to allow Naylor to appear at its next regular meeting to finish her remarks. "Speech cannot be curtailed on the mere basis that others react positively to it," the judge ruled. Says Naylor, "This proves that my freedom of speech is very, very valuable in this country."

Resources

Attention Student Members

Photo: Photodisc

The Jack Kinnaman Scholarship helps college students defray the cost of higher education. The scholarship was created in memory of NEA-Retired Vice President and former Advisory Council member, Jack Kinnaman. To be considered for the scholarship, applicants must meet the following criteria:

• be an active participant in the NEA Student Program on the local, state and/or national level
• be able to demonstrate financial need
• carry a 2.5 or better grade point average.

Go to www.nea.org/student-program/programs/kinnaman.html to print and submit a completed application by April 15, 2005. In addition, include two (2) letters of recommendation—one from the faculty advisor of your NEA Student Program chapter—the other from someone who is not a relative. For more, contact NEA-Retired at 202-822-7149.

Spruce Up Your school

The Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation awards more than $2 million annually to diverse organizations across the United States through community and public school improvement projects and education scholarships for trade disciplines. The Foundation provides funding only to 501 (c)(3) organizations in communities where Lowe's operates stores and distribution centers. School improvement projects include: playground enhancements, landscaping and painting, and outdoor learning environments such as educational gardening programs. For more, go to their Web site.

Calling Captain Planet

The Captain Planet Foundation offers grants between $250 and $2,500 for environmental projects that:

• promote understanding of environmental issues
• focus on hands-on involvement
• involve children and young adults 6–18
• promote interaction and cooperation in the group
• help young people develop planning and problem solving skills
• include adult supervision
• commit to follow-up communication with the Foundation.

All applicant organizations or sponsoring agencies must be exempt from federal taxation under the Internal Revenue Code Section 501 to be eligible for funding. Deadlines for submitting grant applications are March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31. Grant proposals are reviewed over a period of three months from the date of the submission deadline. Proposals must be submitted online. For more information, or to apply, go to www.captainplanetfdn.org/.

Help for Music Progams

The Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation Melody Program provides musical instruments and instrument repairs to existing K–12 school music programs that have no other source of financing to purchase additional musical instruments and materials. Grant applications are accepted throughout the year for instruments and instrument repairs between $500 and $5,000. No cash awards are given. To be eligible, applicant schools must:

• have an ongoing music program that is at least three years old
• have a recruitment plan for its instrumental music program
• offer a well-balanced musical instruction program with budgets or monies made available annually to cover the costs of additional expenses
• have adequate facilities for lessons, practice, rehearsals and secure storage of instruments.

In addition, all schools must offer one group or private lesson per week that stresses instruction on a student's instrument. Elementary schools must offer at least one rehearsal/class per week that reinforces the lesson; middle schools must offer at least two rehearsals/ classes per week that reinforce the lesson; and high schools must offer three rehearsals/classes per week to qualify.

Handwriting Contest

Zaner-Bloser Educational Publishers announces its 14th Annual National Handwriting Contest for grades 1–8. Schools should select one winner in each grade to enter. State and national winners will be selected in each category and one student will be selected as the Grand National Champion.

National Champions in grades 1–3 win a Fisher-Price PowerTouch Learning System. National Champions in grades 4–8 win a Zire 21 Handheld PDA. Winners' schools receive gift certificates from Zaner-Bloser. The Grand National Champion receives prizes valued at more than $1,000. To be eligible, schools must use Zaner-Bloser Handwriting as their handwriting program.

For more information, including how to enter, visit www.zaner-bloser.com/html/HWcontest.html. Entries must be postmarked by March 1, 2005.

On The Web

	Brown v. Board Exhibition "With an Even Hand: Brown v. Board at Fifty" is an online exhibition that examines precedent-setting court cases that laid the ground- work for the Brown v. Board decision, explores the Supreme Court argument and the public's response to it, and closes with an overview of this profound decision's aftermath. The exhibition features more than 100 items from the Library of Congress' extensive holdings on this subject, including books, documents, photographs, personal papers, manuscripts, maps, music, films, political cartoons, and prints.
	Looking for new fund-raisers? This breeze-through site offers a short list of interesting school fund-raising ideas and some new twists on old standards. The next time your school club needs money, why not sell something useful like first-aid kits, host a faculty contest, or convince people to buy goat insurance? (Just see the site).
	Feel it in your bones A project of the Education Committee of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR), this site delivers no-nonsense, illustrated information on the body's support structure, focusing on areas such as bone structure, bone cells, growth and remodeling, collagen and bone matrix, hormones that effect bone, bone biomechanics, diseases of the bone, and exercise and nutrition. Students in high school to medical school can use this site as a handy biology reference.
	An Ocean of Info Interested in whales, oil spills, and the health and fate of our oceans? Then check out Oceanus magazine online. The site contains articles and commentary on the meaning and value of ocean research, engineering, and education at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, in addition to features on ocean life, climate change, and exploration.
	Reviled and Revered From the Smithsonian Office of Education, this site for grades 3–8 uses five lessons to help students examine misconceptions about herps (the collective name given to reptiles and amphibians), discover how humans have viewed herps throughout history, and catalog the differences and similarities between reptiles and amphibians. Links to other resources are also included.
	Brushing up on U.S. Immigration This Library of Congress site offers multiple online exhibits examining immigration to the United States in the last few hundred years. Jewish life in America for the last 350 years, mid to late 19th-century Chinese immigration, images of Ellis Island, a look at New York's Lower East Side Tenement museum, and interviews with today's immigrants are all featured, as well as interactive timelines and maps showing immigration patterns.
	Teaching about Taxes Why do we pay taxes? If your high school or community college students (or you for that matter) have ever asked this question, then look to the IRS Understanding Taxes site. Detailed lesson plans, interactive activities, simulations, examples of how and why taxes affect and influence our daily lives, and more explain the hows of taxes (a primer on tax application) and the whys of taxes (the theory and history behind taxes). Lesson plans are correlated to national and state educational standards.

Diversity Calendar

February

February 1–28—Black History Month

A time to reflect on the achievements, history, and contributions of African Americans. Created by Carter G. Woodson in the 1920s as Negro History Week, the celebration became month-long in 1976.

February 12—Abraham Lincoln's Birthday

This 16th U.S. President was born in 1809 and assassinated in 1865. His birthday is observed as a federal holiday—President's Day—along with George Washington's on February 22.

February 15—Susan B. Anthony's Birthday

Born in 1820, Anthony crusaded for women's rights and the abolition of slavery until her death in 1906.

February 20—Frederick Douglass Day

Although Douglass' birthdate in unknown, this African-American journalist and anti-slavery leader died on this day in 1895.

March

March 1–31—National Mental Retardation Awareness Month

A month set aside to promote awareness of mental retardation and the welfare of the 7.2 million Americans with this disability. For more, see www.thearc.org.

March 1–31—Music in Our Schools Month

Sponsored by the National Association for Music Education, this month emphasizes the importance of music in the learning experience. For more, see www.menc.org.

March 1—Korean Independence Movement Day

The Korean Proclamation of Independence is read on this day, which commemorates the anniversary of the independence movement against colonial Japanese rule in 1919.

March 8—International Women's Day

The anniversary of the 1857 strike by women textile workers in New York to protest low wages and inhumane working conditions. In the early 1900s, this day was named to honor working women.

Books by NEA Members

	Escape from Saigon: How a Vietnam War Orphan Became an American Boy By Andrea Warren With a bleak-looking future in his own country, eight-year-old Long, an Amerasian orphan whose father was an American, escaped Vietnam at the end of the war. Through Operation Babylift, which airlifted children out of Saigon, Long was brought to the United States and became part of an American family. Long's struggles in leaving his home and becoming part of a different culture are depicted in this tense and moving real-life story. 128 pp.
	The perfect stage crew: The Compleat Technical guide for high school, college, and community theater By John Kaluta A technical theater veteran shows it is possible to pull off a fantastic production on a limited budget in less than 40 days in this volume covering the nuts and bolts of putting a show together. The book tackles the most common and complex stage and crew problems, from hanging lights and repairing sound equipment to painting scenery to preparing tickets and generating publicity, and will help you turn backstage workers into the perfect crew. 256 pp.
	Keystone Stables: The Trouble with Skye By Marsha Hubler Angry, 13-year-old, foster kid Skye Nicholson has been in so much trouble that she faces juvenile detention. Luckily, though, Tom and Eileen Chambers decide to give her one last chance and take her into their home. Through her stay on this horse ranch, Skye is introduced to religion, and through her newfound hope, she is given a chance to turn her life around. Part of the Keystone Stables series, written by a foster parent, this book would be appropriate for parents looking for faith-based ways to guide their adolescent kids. 130 pp. $2.99 from Zonderkidz.

Take Note

Addressing Legal Issues Around Students' Sexual Orientation

A consortium of national organizations—including NEA—under the leadership of the National School Boards Association (NSBA), has issued a resource document to help school leaders address legal issues surrounding students' sexual orientation and gender identity.

"Dealing with Legal Matters Surrounding Students' Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity" provides practical guidance on schools' legal rights and responsibilities with respect to students, school programs, and curriculum. Using a Q&A format, the publication addresses questions on student organizations and clubs; dress codes; curriculum and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered students; student involvement in school events; and student harassment. Among the questions answered: What are your legal responsibilities as a school leader when it comes to student-sponsored clubs such as a Gay-Straight Alliance? What should you do if you learn students are being harassed because of their sexual orientation?

Download the publication for free.

Call for Papers

Do you teach, or have you taught, low-income children? Have a story to share? Catherine Wiley, an English professor at the University of Colorado at Denver is seeking creative nonfiction essays, 10–30 pages, on teaching low-income children in public schools. Teaching is defined as classroom instruction, counseling, on-site administration, nursing, cafeteria work, coaching, etc. "No Child Left Behind" may be a theme or you may compare teaching before and after the implementation of NCLB. Comparisons of different kinds of schools, e.g., urban vs. rural or suburban schools, may be appropriate. The book is intended for a general audience, so an academic framework is not acceptable. Send queries to catherine.wiley@cudenver.edu. Four-page proposals or completed essays must be received by May 1, 2005.

Teaching Religions From the News

The Thirteen/WNET-produced newsmagazine program Religion & Ethics Newsweekly offers an online video workshop for high school and college educators that highlights the special resources that the news can offer for teaching about world religions. Based on a Colgate University course, the video represents an example of how to teach about world religions using the news—particularly the role that TV, radio, newspapers, and other media can play in the classroom. The Web site course features classroom footage shot on location in 2003–04 and augmented by the course description, syllabus, and exam questions. Check out the course. Additional resources for K–12 teachers, including lesson plans, teaching tips, and a downloadable viewer's guide, are also available on the Religion & Ethics Newsweekly Web site.

In Print

	Equality in Schools The struggle to desegregate America's schools began 100 years before Brown v. Board of Education when a 5-year-old girl named Sarah was forced to walk past five white schools to reach her poor and overcrowded all-Black school. In Sarah's Long Walk: The Free Blacks of Boston and How Their Struggle for Equality Changed America, Sarah's father, fed up with his daughter's unfair treatment, sues the city of Boston on his daughter's behalf. Father and son authors Stephen and Paul Kendrick recreate this landmark event in the struggle for equality in schools. 320 pp.
	Standing Short Michael Jordan isn't a basketball player—at least not this Michael Jordan. This Michael is the shortest kid in seventh grade. So when a pretty blond eighth grader named Macy starts to pay a lot of attention to him, Michael is amazed. Could this girl really like him? The (Short) Story of My Life by Jennifer B. Jones humorously captures a boy's anxiety about middle school and girls. 160 pp.
	Make the Most of that Campus Visit With all the colleges out there, how can students be expected to choose which one will best fit them? A good source of information for students and their families, Spying on the College of Your Choice by Steven Oppenheimer acts as a guide through the challenging process of choosing a college. It includes suggestions on making the most of your college visit, and brings up issues about college life that most college guides steer clear of, such as tolerance and drug use. Additionally, hundreds of ideas are given for useful questions to ask about colleges. 254 pp.
	True Devotion Hachiko the dog waits every day at the train station for his owner, the Professor, to return. Then one day, the Professor does not return on the train. So Hachiko continues to wait for him…for 10 years! Inspired by a true story, Leslèa Newman's Hachiko Waits tells a legendary and heartfelt Japanese story about loyalty and devotion. 96 pp.
	Grant Writing Tips Using Beverly A. Brownings' Grant Writing for Educators: Practical Strategies for Teachers, Administrators, and Staff, you will be able to improve your grant writing skills and increase the odds of receiving those much-needed grants. This guide provides strategies for finding funders, dealing with paperwork, writing winning proposals according to instructions, and more. 120 pp.
	A Picture of Dad Anthony Browne's book, My Dad, uses colorful illustrations filled with imagination and exaggeration as a child describes the accomplishments of his father. Clad in his comfy bathrobe, the boy's dad can—literally—eat like a horse and wrestle with giants in this tribute to fathers everywhere. 32 pp.
	A Happy End All of the animals at the farm gather together to decide who has The Best Bottom. Author Brigitte Minne's simple and amusing contest of tails features all the farm animals admiring the splendor of their own tails. With some resourceful thinking, however, an unlikely animal emerges as the winner, showing that creativity counts even when it comes to tails. For ages 4–8. 32 pp.
	Flying Through History Martin W. Sandler tells the story of American aviation in Flying Over the USA: Airplanes in American Life. Sandler describes the exciting stories of the American pioneers in flight, and traces the path from hot air balloon flight to supersonic jet fighters in this latest book in the Transportation in America series. 64 pp.
	Poetry for Animal Lovers John Hollander edited this collection of Animal Poems. Discover which creatures inspired such literary heavyweights as Dickinson, Tennyson, and Wordsworth into writing. Vivid illustrations accompany the lively verse, and kids are sure to love the animal focus. 48 pp.

Heads Up from NEA Member Benefits

Helping NEA Members and Their Families "Make it Home."

Illustration: Corbis

Spring is home buying season, and now is the perfect time to think about your homeownership goals. The NEA Home Financing Program® offers a variety of home financing programs that make it easier for you to purchase a home or make the most of your current one. Whether you are a first-time home buyer (adult children of members are also eligible) or looking to move to a larger home, refinance, or leverage your home equity to pay for home improvements, we have a variety of flexible financing options to suit your needs.

Call 1-800-NEA-4-YOU (800-632-4968) for more information about the home buying process or to get today's rates. Be sure to ask about the complimentary NEA GetawaySM hotel package you'll receive after closing on a new mortgage or refinance!

The NEA Members Insurance Trust® works hard to provide cost-effective and feature-rich life insurance plans to help protect NEA members and their families.  Due to positive claims experience with the NEA Insurance plans, a new NEA Group Term Life Plan, issued by the Prudential Insurance Company of America, was introduced this past November and offers rates 10 percent lower overall than the previous NEA Term Life Plan. In addition, full benefits now extend to age 70, five years longer than with the old plan. More good news—members' spouses may apply for the same or greater coverage at even more competitive rates!

For information, call the NEA Member Benefits Member Service Center toll free at 800-637-4636, Monday–Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (or Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.) ET.

The NEA Home Financing Program has provided over $2 billion in home loans to NEA members and their families.

What's Up at HIN

Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools Promotional Product Available!

Are you having trouble convincing your principal or superintendent to improve the indoor air quality (IAQ) in your school or school district? If so, EPA has created "The IAQ Tools for Schools Advantage," a 4-minute VHS video/CD-ROM package that aims to assist school staff in promoting EPA's IAQ Tools for Schools program to key decision makers in the school community. The video or CD can be used to help make the case for implementing the program, which guides schools on how to identify, prevent, and solve IAQ problems using low and no-cost solutions.  It features media stories on school IAQ problems and testimonials from school officials on the importance of dealing proactively with this growing issue. To obtain a copy to assist you with your efforts or to learn more about IAQ Tools for Schools, contact Jennie Young or 202-822-7481.

Words Can Work: When Talking With Kids About Sexual Health Book

Words Can Work tells how 12 families talk about sexual health. Teens, in first-person accounts, take readers into their world, while Dr. David Satcher, former U.S. Surgeon General, and Dr. Paula Rauch, Massachusetts General Hospital, offer strategies—and the words—parents can use to talk with their kids about puberty, values, relationships, sex, birth control, and more. Visit www.wordscanwork.com to learn more or to obtain a copy.

Take Care of Your Heart this Valentine's Day

Cardiovascular diseases are the number one killer of men and women in the United States. While the myth persists that heart disease affects men more than women, in reality these diseases are responsible for one female death each minute, claiming nearly half a million women's lives each year. Lower the risks for yourself and your loved ones: start adopting a healthier lifestyle today. Visit www.neahin.org for new information and links to help you take care of your heart this Valentine's Day.

On TV

Photo Between the Lions: Corbis/John E. Barrett/© WGBH/Sirius Thinking	Between the Lions PBS Kids, check local listings for times and days. Between the Lions wins Emmys because it helps develop younger viewers' reading skills with a variety of approaches, from phonemic awareness to text comprehension. The first of its kind to teach reading that is research-based, this program is far from dull and plodding. Created for children ages 4–7, the show begins at a magical library run by lion puppets, parents Theo and Cleo and children Lionel and Leona. The family's adventures provide the narrative thread for each half-hour program, which is supplemented by a number of clever and visually appealing stand-alone segments. Recent research conducted by two universities indicates that younger children benefit from watching the program. Check out their extensive site.
Holocaust Heroes: Discover Communications, Inc.	Holocaust Heroes Discovery Channel, February 7, 9 a.m., ET, check local listings. This special explores the roots of the Holocaust, the last days of Anne Frank, and the personal stories of a group of Holocaust survivors. Can be taped and used in the classroom for one year.
	Choose or Lose: Vote or Die MTV, February 7 and 21, 4 a.m., ET. P. Diddy hits the streets and the presidential conventions to talk to the powerful and powerless about why young minorities are so disinterested in politics and disconnected from the political process. The half-hour show can be taped and used in the classroom for one year.
Biography Close-Up: Civil Rights Heroes A&E, February 8, 7 a.m., ET. This hourlong program profiles some of the people who have kept the ideals of the civil rights movement alive in the United States, including Mae Bertha Carter, Bill Russell, and John Lewis. Can be taped and used in the classroom for two years with teaching materials available at www.aetv.com/classroom.
A Fragile Freedom: African American Historic Sites History Channel, February 10, 6 a.m., ET. Explore eight unique African-American historic sites around the country while learning of the strength of Black communities during the 1800s. The hourlong show can be taped and used in the classroom for two years with eaching materials at www.historychannel.com/classroom.
The Last Days of World War II The History Channel, premiers February 18–24, 8 p.m., ET/PT, check local listings. Sixty years ago this February, American forces began their assault on Iwo Jima, Japan's heavily fortified island. Taking this moment as its starting point, the History Channel developed a documentary series detailing how the war was won. The island was riddled with underground tunnels and Japanese gunners would pop up out of the mountain, fire at the Marines below, and then drop back into hiding. The Marines had never dealt with this kind of fortification before, and it took days to come up with a strategy to overtake the underground enemy. Survivors and historians recount the siege, supplemented by archival film and photos. Good graphics combined with interviews make this series interesting for teens and for the rest of us. However, some pictures of dead soldiers from archival photos may upset younger students.
SportsFigures ESPN2, February 28, 4:30 a.m., ET, check local listings. Professional athletes use sports to demonstrate math and physics in this series. In this episode, "Gravity Check/Batting the Unknown," Dave Mirra explains gravity's role in bike stunts and Troy Glaus uses algebraic variables to determine batting averages. The show can be taped and used in the classroom for one year with teaching materials at www.sportsfigures.espn.com.
On TV listings are provided by Kidsnet, a national resource for children's media in Washington, D.C., www.kidsnet.org, and by Cable in the Classroom's Access Learning magazine at www.ciconline.org.

READ ACROSS AMERICA

NFL Players Tiki and Ronde Barber Lead the Way!

National Football League stars and twin brothers Tiki and Ronde Barber are dedicated literacy advocates. That's why they're leading NEA's Read Across America celebration as honorary Co-chairs and recruiting other celebrities and star athletes along the way. Tiki, with the New York Giants, and Ronde, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are also Verizon Literacy Champions. They'll be donning the familiar Cat in the Hat hat and leading the nation in reading March 2 as we celebrate the joy of reading and Read Across America Day. How are you celebrating reading March 2? Pledge your activities and get a resource kit chock full of posters and ideas.

Music Power

No Laughing Matter

Folk singer and activist Peter Yarrow talks about how music can change the world—one classroom at a time.

Just the Facts More than 3 million students are victims of bullying each year, according to the American Medical Association. Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered (GLBT) students are at greater risk—83 percent of GLBT students have been verbally harassed because of their sexual orientation, while more than 40 percent have been physically harassed, according to the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network. Bullying leaves long-term effects. Both bullies and victims are more likely to drop out of school and engage in criminal activity later in life, according to the National Association of School Psychologists.

It's the slice of school life that disheartens: Between 15 and 30 percent of students have either bullied a classmate or been bullied. And roughly 160,000 children stay home from school each day because they fear what a classmate might do to them.

Legendary folk musician Peter Yarrow finds such statistics simply unacceptable. In 2000 Yarrow, a member of the acclaimed music trio Peter, Paul & Mary, founded the nonprofit organization Operation Respect to equip educators with the tools and skills they need to transform their schools into compassionate, safe, and respectful places. Through the use of music, video, and interactive classroom activities, Operation Respect's "Don't Laugh At Me" program strives to sensitize children to the painful effects caused by ridicule, disrespect, and other forms of bullying and transform classrooms into "Ridicule-Free Zones." NEA Today's Kristen Loschert spoke with Yarrow about the mission behind "Don't Laugh At Me" and how his work with Operation Respect builds on his years of social activism.

Why did you start Operation Respect?

YARROW:  It was simply an extension of the work that I've been doing throughout the years with Peter, Paul & Mary. Everything comes back to the absence or presence of respect. The civil rights movement was about racism, which is a very virulent form of disrespect. The women's movement and the gender equality movement are certainly about the absence or presence of respect. The environmental movement is about respect for the environment and for the next generation. War is about the kind of antipathy, animosity that proceeds from disrespect. 

Photo by Operation Respect

And so the dilemma with working on all those issues for the adult population is that you don't change the hearts of adults. You may change the civil rights law, you may change some societal norms, but it's merely two steps forward, one step back—unless you get to the hearts of children who can be reached prior to re-perpetuating that terrible cycle of disrespect, hatred, and prejudice that are just so prevalent in the world. The only way to really break that cycle is through the children. "Don't Laugh At Me" and Operation Respect focus on doing precisely that. I'm talking about creating an environment in which the next generation will grow up to act differently and look at each other differently.

Music plays a central role in your program. Why is music an effective way to connect with children and to change people's attitudes generally?

YARROW: The reality is that you remember songs, from when you dated, when you marched—they seep into your soul. Music allows people to receive messages that they might otherwise discard. They touch the heart. 

The songs on the "Don't Laugh At Me" video produce very strong responses in the kids, and it provides a platform for a discussion of the issues, while the classroom exercises give them a sense that they are controlling their own environment. It's all about empowerment. The kids are our partners. If they are given a task of creating a ridicule-free environment in their classrooms, they will leap to the opportunity.

Now, that having been said, we are, of course, paddling upstream here because the majority of messages we're getting from the media are ones that seem to celebrate disrespect. You get famous for getting on Jenny Jones or Jerry Springer and humiliating somebody else or allowing yourself to be humiliated. I mean, it is a horrible cycle in the United States of people seeing this kind of behavior on television. The adults are amused and kids are troubled by it, yet they incorporate those role models into their own behavior patterns and hurt each other terribly.

How much did your mother's work as a teacher influence your sense of activism and decision to start the "Don't Laugh At Me" program?  Were her philosophies at the back of your mind at all?

YARROW: That was in the front of my mind. My mother was a member of the teachers union, which could have lost her her job then. That's why I went into this field, this folk music. It was always teaching to me. The only way you achieve peace is through education. The only hope we have to turn back from this road is to interrupt the cycle of disrespect and hatred and prejudice on a racial, religious, national, tribal level, and the only way we can do that is through our ability to reach the children. And therein lies the reason for my saying this is the most important work I've ever done, which it is.

Get Involved Has bullying become a problem in your school? Do you want to do something about it? Then join NEA's National Bullying Awareness Campaign. Through the campaign, NEA local affiliates partner with their school districts to develop a comprehensive bullying and sexual harassment prevention/intervention program. But they don't do it alone. Members of NEA's national cadre of trainers will work with local educators and staff to identify their school's individual problems and develop a program to address them. Want more information? Contact your state Association or visit www.nea.org/schoolsafety/ bullying.html. Teachers' guides on bullying and sexual harassment also are available from the NEA Professional Library at http://home.nea .org/books, while parent resources are available from the NEA Health Information Network at www.neahin.org/canwetalk/.

What are your future plans for "Don't Laugh At Me"?

YARROW:  The program is just one piece of the puzzle. There's no pretense that this is a be-all and end-all program. This is just a tool. But it's a tool that has unique elements in it. It has the music, it has the appeal of the idealism of the songs. It's a program that has different concepts, like the ridicule-free zone, that are unique. And it has the support of magic dragons.

But the other part of us is to create the awareness of the problem and the solution. And bring it to the legislative arenas and bring it to the parents and bring it to the business community. Our role is to inform, to generate excitement, to generate energy, to mobilize, and also to provide one tool that can be an effective part of either launching people, launching classrooms, in this work or enriching similar work already in progress.

Our hope is that we will create this on a community-wide basis in a more integrated way, and more comprehensively, and reach the tipping point in the next year or two, whereby parents prefer to send their kids to schools that look most intensely at the culture of the school and the way it nurtures their kids before they look at the academics.

But shouldn't students' academic success be the priority?

YARROW:  If the culture of the school is positive and loving, you can be sure that the academics will be equally successful. They do not function independently of each other. A school that is troubled will not be able to function in terms of allowing the kids to reach their academic potential. A school that is focused on the emotional development of the kids, the humanity of the language, the way in which they interact with each other and the teachers, and the way in which the teachers are allowed to teach will ultimately produce the best academic results as well.

To learn more about the "Don't Laugh At Me" program or to download a free copy of the curriculum, visit www.dontlaugh.org/. Educators can reproduce the program materials free of charge or purchase bulk quantities for a nominal fee.

Up Front

Doing the Math

Here's the bright news: A study released in December finds that compared with their international peers, American elementary and middle school students are faring pretty well in math and science, thank you. According to the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, or TIMSS, American fourth and eighth graders scored well above the international average.

Photos: Tanya Constantine

The discouraging news comes from another study, which shows the math lights dimming once U.S. kids enter high school. This study, also released in December, found American 15-year-olds scored below average among students from developed countries. Known as the Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA, this survey was sponsored by the Organ-ization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a group of the world's richest countries.

So what's the difference between the two surveys? One is the age of the students. Another is that PISA tested the application of math ideas to daily living situations, while TIMSS is more about whether students are learning the curriculum.

Each study was conducted in 2003. The TIMSS results showed no change for fourth graders since an earlier study in 1995, but the gap between Black and white students narrowed. Eighth graders scored higher overall than in 1995 and the gap between Black and white also narrowed.

Time Out?

Is there such a thing as being with your students too much?

Photos: Comstock

American teachers work more hours with their students than do teachers in any other developed country. That would be 1,139 hours a year in elementary schools and a few hours less in secondary, according to a recent survey. The average number of student contact hours in the survey was 803 in elementary, less in secondary.

Japan, notably, was at the bottom with 617 hours in elementary, 513 in "lower secondary," and 449 in "upper secondary." Japanese teachers get to spend lots of time outside their classes working together to develop and improve their lessons—which may have something to do with why Japanese students consistently score at or near the top in international competitions.

(Too Much) Love Abounding

Is your school a jungle of flowers and balloons on Valentine's Day? Do you see more teddy bears than students? When it comes to celebrating Valentine's Day in schools, love isn't always so sweet.

Photos: Comstock

The holiday may be full of fun for students, but, according to USA Today, some teachers and administrators think Valentine's Day has gotten out of control in schools and are trying to limit Valentine's gifts during school hours. Some teachers point to how distracted students get with all those sweets and gifts coming in—and how embarrassed students who don't receive anything feel. Plus, some school offices have become more like loading docks for balloons and flowers, which somebody (and we aren't calling names) has to distribute.

The chaos has led some administrators to politely ask students to send their little gifts of affection somewhere else besides school. A number of Greenville County high schools in South Carolina have outright banned Valentine's Day deliveries.

Some educators, though, think that Valentine's Day at school is all in good fun.  David Sawhill, a math teacher at Pioneer Junior High in California, says teachers "could actually use the deliveries as a teaching tool."

After all, he notes, they allow "students to express themselves toward others."  Hmm. Sawhill, whose school allows deliveries, does add that an organized delivery system could help keep some of the Valentine chaos under control.

Notepad Take the Break With the first semester of school just about behind you, you're probably wincing at the amount of money you've already spent outfitting your classroom with supplies. Fortunately, you'll be able to claim at least part of those expenses on your taxes this year and next. Congress has extended a plan that allows educators—both teachers and support professionals— to deduct up to $250 of their out-of-pocket classroom expenses on their 2004 and 2005 taxes. Congress originally passed the legislation in 2002, but it expired at the end of 2003. NEA worked with lawmakers on the two-year extension and continues to fight to make the deduction permanent and expand it to include professional development expenses. The tax bill also extends a federal tax credit bond program that provides funding for school construction and extends a tax deduction for corporations that donate computers to public schools. Read next month's NEA Today to see how much some of your colleagues spend on their classrooms and what they buy. Have a great idea? Send it by mail: NEA Today 1201 16th St., N.W. Washington, DC 20036 Send it by e-mail: neatoday@nea.org.

Let's Hear It for...
...Good News!

Photos: Stockbyte

Okay, so you're bummed out about all that testing. District officials are at your door with their progress check pads. Your kids are needing a serious chill pill.

Take a deep breath. Surely something's going right this year—and we want to know! Tell us your good news tale in 200 words or less, and we'll select the best of the best for a future NEA Today issue. But get to it—you have until February 20 to send your story to neatoday-reply@list.nea.org.

TV Teacher

He may be a TV producer and photojournalist, but, for all practical purposes, Omaha, Nebraska's Ben Gray is an educator. And he's using his journalistic expertise to help adults and kids understand important lessons about African-American history—not just during the month of February, but throughout the year.

Photos: Ryan McVay

Gray's groundbreaking work in the community and with students last year earned him the Carter G. Woodson Memorial Award from NEA and the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. But he's had little time to stop and muse about that too much.

Gray works for television station KETV in Omaha, where he produces Kaleidoscope, a show focusing on the Black community. The program addresses controversial issues, such as the growing influence of Islam in the penitentiary, and features celebrities and politicians. Gray also chairs the Omaha Public Schools' African American Achievement Council, gives talks in schools, and produces a book club show that allows students to tackle touchy subjects, such as intraracial discrimination against African Americans with darker skin.

Gray says while February's Black History Month celebrations are important, African-American

history "ought to be infused in curriculum" instead of being largely marginalized or ignored, and adds that positive African-American images "enrich and motivate Black children and engender respect from other ethnic groups." Encouraging respect is important because, as Gray reminds in one of his television programs, "We can choose to live together as brothers and sisters or perish together as fools."

—Sarah Rabovsky

See more on Ben Gray's work via streaming video at NEA Today Extra.

Hygienic Heroes

Hearing the familiar song of cough, cough, sneeze, snort? You're not alone. Cold and flu season has arrived and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say kids miss 22 million school days every year because of the common cold. 

Photos: Andrew Bret Wallis

But instead of stocking up on chicken soup, you may want to reach for the antibacterial soap and team up with Ship-Shape and his Scrub Club to fend off those pesky viruses. With some guidance from this legion of germ fighters, children can stay healthy by learning the dos and don'ts of hand washing at www.scrubclub.org, an interactive Web site that features seven "soaper-hero" kids in a "webisode," games, songs, and activities, as well as helpful advice for teachers and parents for keeping kids germ-free. 

NSF International, an independent, not-for-profit organization devoted to public health, launched the site in September as part of National Clean Hands Week and National Food Safety Education Month. The organization, along with The Partnership for Food Safety Education, hopes that by getting kids to wash their hands properly, the Scrub Club will help kids stay healthy and increase the number of days children spend learning in class instead of coughing and sneezing at home.

—S.R.

Global Takes Hunger rises again At least 5 million children die of hunger every year, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported in December. That comes to one every six seconds. The total number of people who are hungry grew to over 850 million, or more than one in seven. FAO found that the number of hungry people fell during the 1990s, but now it is rising again. Many countries have reduced the number of hungry people, however. More than 30 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America reduced hunger by at least 25 percent. Hunger was down slightly in Subsaharan Africa as a whole, FAO reported. Can Thais Lift IQ? The government of Thailand has announced a drive to boost children's IQs by 25 percent over the next decade. The program will start before birth, teaching pregnant women how to help their children develop high IQ. Curricula will also be revised. Thailand's prime minister wants children to start learning a foreign language before age 6. He said the government will give financial aid to poor students so they can finish secondary school and go on to a university. Have a good story? Send it by mail: NEA Today 1201 16th St., N.W. Washington, DC 20036 Send it by e-mail: neatoday@nea.org.

Mixed Messages

Photos: Nathan Ham

Once again, large numbers of public schools have received failing marks for their performance on the federal No Child Left Behind law, while simultaneously scoring at the top of the pack on their own state accountability systems. It's a bit like getting an "F" and an "A" for math at the same time. In Florida, for example, 1,262 schools got the coveted "A" from the state—and 827 of them didn't make "adequate yearly progress" (AYP) under the federal statute. In North Carolina, 102 schools rated "excellent" by the state didn't make AYP. In California, 403 achieved double the state growth target but failed AYP. And on and on.

How is this possible? Because there are so many ways—literally dozens—to fail in the federal system. Not only must the student body pass standardized reading and math tests, but each of many subgroups of students—ethnic groups, low-income students, special education students—must also pass, and 95 percent of each group must take the test. Highly useful information comes from looking at the scores for each of those groups, but flunking a school because of one slip-up is—well, insanity. That's why a large and growing coalition of groups that work to improve public education are joining NEA in pushing for reform. For more, see NEA Today Extra.

NCLB: Test Yourself

Photos: Comstock

You live it every day, but how much do you really know about the so-called No Child Left Behind law? Find out by taking a test developed by NEA member Stan Karp for Rethinking Schools magazine. It's fun, it's enlightening, and you won't see your score published in your local newspaper. If you send in your results, Rethinking Schools promises that "we will send you a list of the slots in society for which you seem qualified."

Visit www.rethinkingschools.org and go to the archives. The test is in the fall 2004 issue.

Safer But Plumper

Were the "good old days" really that good? Not necessarily, according to Kenneth Land, a sociologist at Duke University, who analyzed seven quality-of-life indicators from 1975 to 2002. He found mixed results. 

Photos: Diital Vision

YES, MORE CHILDREN  live in single-parent homes, and teen suicides are up. But children are safer than they were three decades ago. Student achievement has remained fairly steady. 

Meanwhile, the teen birth rate has dropped from 18.7 births per 1,000 to 11.9. Teenagers are having less sex these days, and when they do, they're more likely to use contraception.

But children have gotten chubbier—partly, Land believes, because of fear. Parents want to keep their children safe, he says, so some kids end up in after-school activities. But too many others stay home, watching television, playing video games, and consuming extra calories they don't burn.

That's something Arkansas parents are hearing about. Under a 2003 law, Arkansas schools measured students' height and weight, discovering that 22 percent are clearly overweight, and another 18 percent are close to it. Parents got the news on their children's report cards, along with advice on what to do about it.

America's Founding Myths

Was Patrick Henry really the one to say "Give me liberty or give me death?" Did Paul Revere even take that famous Midnight Ride? Was Molly Pitcher actually a real person?

The answers to these questions may come as a surprise. Ray Raphael uncovers the historic errors that have been advanced by our nation's treasured stories surrounding the American Revolution and the birth of our nation in Founding Myths: Stories that Hide our Patriotic Past (The New Press, 2004). The stories you have heard of our nation's founding aren't necessarily the truth.

In fact, the real founding heroes may not be who you think. Raphael reveals that true stories of our nation's beginnings tell not of the heroism of a few, but of the patriotism of the many.

He points out that the founding of the United States depended on an impassioned network of anonymous activists who were committed to freedom. It was these dedicated and determined people who are the real heroes.

—SARAH RABOVSKY

Two-Minute Tips Organizing Student Information To keep my homeroom organized, I keep a three-ring binder with a plastic report cover pocket sleeve for each student. Each sleeve contains a contact card with home information, address, phone numbers, allergies, etc. This way I always have each child's information at my fingertips. I also use the pockets to store notes I send home, conference confirmations, and notes on discipline for each child. At conference time, I have all the information I need on a student readily available. —Martha Baughman South Carolina Border Bonanza After 14 plus years of teaching and buying nearly all of the decorative borders available, not to mention going broke in the process, I came up with an alternative to expensive borders: I go to discount stores and buy their cheap rolls of decorative or theme wrapping paper. I buy several different patterns and laminate the paper. Then I cut the paper to the desired widths and/or lengths to border my bulletin boards. The borders last a long time. —Myrna Spear Rialto, California Have a good story? Send it by mail: NEA Today 1201 16th St., N.W. Washington, DC 20036 Send it by e-mail: neatoday@nea.org.

Lights, Camera, Teach!

Teachers at Roosevelt Elementary School in Long Beach, California, have grown accustomed to being videotaped at work. It's not some kind of Big Brother spy operation, though. They're doing it to themselves, to help new teachers improve their practice.

Photos: Sandy Schaeffer

THE TAPING BEGAN in 2001, and its success brought teachers Joan Kennedy (right) and Patty Nagano (left), who coordinate the program, the NEA Foundation's 2004 Hilda Maehling Award for innovative professional development activities.

New teachers in the program review their tapes with their more experienced teaching coaches. Bad hair days, though, can be a distraction on video, and one teacher adds that she was watching her weight more closely than her teaching. So the teachers decided to point the camera only at students. Another safeguard: A teacher can watch the tape first and decide whether to show it to the coach. "Initially everyone was apprehensive," says Kennedy. "But it turned out not to be an administrative gotcha." Administrators are taped, too, and the principal was first in line. 

Kennedy and Nagano say the program has built a collaborative support system at the school, which has helped boost teacher retention to 90 percent. They say it has helped experienced teachers as well as newcomers teach better.

Yikes! Not me!

While grading essays for my 10th-grade class one evening, I came across a student's paper that was fairly well-written. This student was not doing well in class, and because there was such improvement, I wanted to tell her how proud I was of her achievement. I wrote on the paper in large red letters, "SEE ME."

After I handed the papers back and the bell rang, she tapped me on the shoulder, held up the paper, and said, "Mr. P., I can't see you, I'm seeing four other guys!"

At that point I didn't know what to say and just squeaked out, "Good job."

—Alan Pressman
Montville, New Jersey

Have a funny school story you'd like to share?
Send it to neatoday@nea.org.

Spotlight

Battle Cry:  Ante Up!

Grassroots lobbying targets Mississippi legislators. The goal: adequate funds for public schools

Illustration: Bill Johnson

After 20 years in the classroom, Mimi Gray is a pro at convincing kids to do their work—but state legislators have a few lessons to learn too, she says, particularly when it comes to funding public education.

Along with thousands of her colleagues, Gray, a math teacher at Coahoma County High School in the Mississippi Delta, has been preparing for a new after-school job—as an informal, unpaid lobbyist for education.

"Around here, everybody wants education," Gray says. "If we can put pressure on [our legislators], I know they'll support us."

With Mississippi schools facing a record $226.6 million deficit this year—which means "losing teachers and losing programs" in tiny Coahoma—it's become more critical than ever that Mississippi Association of Educators (MAE) members like Gray raise their voices.

So, MAE is leading a statewide effort to train nearly 100,000 teachers, parents, school board members, and administrators, plus business leaders and clergy, to speak up.

The initiative began last year with a series of passionate phone calls from MAE President Beverly Brahan to her friends at the state associations for superintendents, school boards, and administrators. All shared the same goal and the same frustration: We want great public schools, but we can't get the necessary state money to support them.

Months later, they came up with an answer—the Coalition for Children and Public Education (CCPE)—a cadre of citizens armed with letter-writing and lobbying skills, and the sheer will to knock on the doors of state senators and representatives and demand adequate funding. 

"I've been kicking around Mississippi politics for a long time and I don't think I've seen a time when things are so grave," CCPE co-chair former Governor William Winter told dozens of the coalition's new recruits at Brookhaven High School last fall.

"We are going to slip back unless there's a concentrated effort by the people in this state to insist the adequate education program be fully funded," warned Winter.

The shortfall faced by Mississippi schools isn't unique; many public educators have become accustomed to writing letters and calling for help. But MAE believes its new effort can be more effective than ever because it relies on community-wide support. And it provides regular folks with the necessary tools to do good lobbying.

"Individually, you really don't know what to do—but this gives you something to do," Gray says. And, like Winter, Gray is confident legislators will respond to citizens, if they hear from enough of them.

The Mississippi coalition kicked off its efforts in early September with training sessions in Jackson and Brookhaven, and then followed them up with more than a half-dozen meetings across the state. From every district in the state, six-person teams that included all of the affected groups—teachers and parents and business people—attended the sessions.

MAE and the coalition's other leaders asked each of those six people to reach out to 10 more friends—but not the usual suspects who regularly fire off letters to the editor. Then those 10 were asked to involve 10 more. That adds up to 90,000 foot-soldiers for Mississippi schools.

The coalition supplied them with sample letters, facts and figures about the looming deficit in each school district, and more than a little advice on getting the job done:

Make it local. "The way to motivate a community is to talk about how this will affect my school or my children's school, and my community's businesses," Brahan advises.

Start early. Mississippi's legislative session kicked off in January, but Brahan asked every team member to contact at least two legislators by December. It's best to shake hands in person, says Frank Yates, MAE's executive director. "It's nice to send them a letter, but it's better to get to know them."

Be strategic. Begin your conversation by thanking them for their previous support, Yates suggests. Then let them know you're worried and point out a specific consequence of poor funding. Are your school buses getting old and unsafe? Will your aide lose her job? Ask administrators to help you identify potential consequences.

Deliver a consistent, positive message. In Mississippi, for example, public schools have made historic progress and have proven accountable. Tell them people are not asking for luxury; they just want fair funding.

Don't let them get to you. When a legislator argues, "Do you want us to raise taxes? Kick kids out of wheelchairs?" remember it's not your job to find the money. "We can tell them it's a matter of priorities and we want education to be number one," Brahan advises. "Put the burden back on them."

—Mary Ellen Flannery

Special Education

A Better IDEA

The reauthorized federal education law should help educators reach students faster, more effectively, and with less pointless paperwork.

By Carolyn White

Photos by Greg Pearson

When Congress passed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) on November 19, Daryl Gates, a middle school teacher from Shreveport, Louisiana, felt like Christmas had come early. "This IDEA will put a smile on the face of the average educator and improve the chance his or her students will get a good education," says Gates, who teaches reading and language arts to seventh- and eighth-grade special ed students at Youree Middle School.

While the new law is far from ideal, it's a big improvement, Gates says. He was following the action in Congress very closely because he's one of 26 educators who make up the NEA special education "cadre." They make sure that NEA lobbyists go armed with real classroom stories when they lobby Congress, and that classroom educators know the latest developments in the law.

An improved IDEA was a top priority for NEA, and to achieve it, Gates and other cadre members helped to mobilize educators as citizen lobbyists working with their own Washington legislators to make sure those writing the law understood the views of those who will carry it out.

In 2002–03, to prepare for the IDEA reauthorization battles that were sure to come, NEA conducted focus group sessions with general educators, special educators, and members of the public, and also received 1,845 surveys from members. The feedback helped to frame strategy for the long legislative campaign.

The campaign resulted in improvements in paperwork rules, early intervention, discipline for violent students, and reducing parent-school litigation (see "What Will the New Law Do? at right).

Other important wins:

• More funding for professional development, both for teachers and paraeducators.
• A new guarantee that instructional materials must be provided to kids in a timely manner. "That should get rid of the horror stories about blind students having to wait eight months for a textbook in Braille," says Patti Ralabate, the former Connecticut speech and language pathologist who heads up NEA's special education efforts.

On the other hand, the law falls short in some important areas, Ralabate says. "They missed the mark with funding and on the definition of highly qualified for special ed teachers," she says.

On the "highly qualified teacher" issue, NEA got half a loaf—more reasonable rules, but not reasonable enough. On funding, there is still no guarantee that Washington will live up to its 1975 promise to pay 40 percent of the cost of special education any time soon.

Some of NEA's biggest victories were in keeping some proposals out of the new law, especially vouchers and a proposal to make all special education instructional paraeducators meet the "highly qualified" requirements of the so-called No Child Left Behind law. Those requirements continue to apply only to Title I paras. 

For more, go to NEA Today Extra.

What Will The New Law Do?

Reduce paperwork.

Before: The paperwork burden ranged from moderate to extreme and teachers complained about having to say the same thing many different ways.

Now: Special ed teachers will report to parents quarterly—a big reduction for many teachers. Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) won't have to include any information that is not required by the federal government. The Department of Education is responsible for helping states reduce repetition on forms. Daryl Gates is really excited about this one. "Earlier this week I completed a 25-page IEP," he says. "The new forms should cut down on the reiteration of the same old info over and over again."

The Department of Education is required to develop a model IEP form within two years. Ralabate says the new forms should be "to the point, focusing on what we need to work on, where we need to go, and how to get there." Simple, right? Now we just have to make sure the new idea gets implemented. NEA is asking to have input into the design of the model form.

Encourage early intervention.

Before: Some states and districts provided help for students before formal special education services kicked in, but others didn't. There was no federal funding for pre-special education intervention, Ralabate explains.

Now: School districts can use up to 15 percent of their federal special education dollars for this purpose. "The new law will put teachers in a stronger position to get help when they want it," says Ralabate. "Schools are put on notice that they are supposed to intervene early and not wait until a student has fallen so far behind it's hard to catch up."

Teachers can ask psychologists, social workers, and special ed teachers to come into their classrooms, observe the students in question, and help them devise solutions—all without doing a full special education evaluation.

Create new criteria for getting special education help.

Before: Students were identified as needing special ed services when their IQ scores were much higher than their performance on a standardized achievement test. The rationale: the student has the potential but something is holding him or her back.

Now: The IQ-achievement test difference can still be used, but not as the sole criterion for IDEA eligibility. Teachers will have more flexibility to argue that a student is not learning the curriculum well enough and fast enough.

Some students will get help who would not have been eligible under the old system, Ralabate says.

Improve 'highly qualified' rules.

Before: The No Child Left Behind law implied that secondary school special education teachers had to be "highly qualified" in every subject they taught.

Now: NEA was not successful in getting Congress to agree that a special education teacher who is certified in special education is highly qualified, period.

But the new law at least is better than the old situation. Special education teachers will have a number of ways to demonstrate their competence in academic subjects. Details can be found at NEA Today Extra. 

Provide stronger protection from violent students.

Before: Any student could be removed from class for up to 10 days for dangerous conduct, but a student with a disability could then come back until a decision was made as to whether the conduct was caused by the disability. "In one case, two students, one disabled and one not, stabbed another student in class," Ralabate recalls. "The non-disabled student was immediately expelled. The disabled student was sent back to class pending a determination of whether the disability had caused the behavior. The teacher and the other kids were frightened to death, but it took several days to get that student out of the class."

Now: An extremely violent student can be removed for up to 45 days while the IEP team figures out what to do next.

"There's only a small percentage of students who might cause physical harm in a class, but this change will definitely help teachers feel less helpless when dealing with them," says Mary Binegaer, an NEA special ed cadre member who  teaches in Ohio.

Reduce litigation between parents and schools.

Before: Disputes over the right program to help a child could have escalated quickly into the courts.

Now: After a complaint is filed, school boards and parents or guardians will have a last-chance, face-to-face meeting before the case goes to court. Both sides must present their positions at this point. They generally can't bring up new areas of conflict later on if they do wind up in court.

President's Viewpoint

Showing Them the Love—and Money

Photo by Nick Crettier

We conceived of this idea as a way to help close the achievement gaps that currently exist in our education system. Undoubtedly, you've seen these gaps in your own classrooms: the kids from underdeveloped countries who can't read nearly as well as their white classmates. The African-American boys from your kindergarten who wind up being sent to special education classes and never make it to AP history—or college. The science scores of your 11th-grade girls that are consistently lower than the boys'.

However, another achievement gap exists that's almost invisible to our eyes: the gap between teaching candidates themselves. According to the Educational Testing Service, only 59 percent of Hispanic and 69 percent of African-American teaching candidates are currently passing their certification exams—as compared with 91 percent of the whites. What this means, of course, is that at a time when the number of minority students is skyrocketing, the number of minority teachers—which is already at an all-time low—will continue to drop even further.

We all know that training and experience create a quality teacher—not skin color. However, while race doesn't determine anyone's ability to master and teach a subject, research does show that teachers of color have higher performance expectations for minority kids, which, in turn, can impact student achievement. What's more, qualified minority teachers also serve as excellent role models and "culture go-betweens" for an increasingly diverse student population.

A few years ago, a white teacher who was just starting out told me there was no one to whom she could turn to help her relate to her minority students. You see, quality minority teachers are not just an asset to their students, but to their white colleagues as well.

Therefore, if we're really serious about closing the achievement gap and providing a great public school for every child, we've got to be serious about teacher quality and teacher diversity, too. Bridging the licensure gap among minority teachers is an essential part of bridging all the other gaps. 

The late Hon. Shirley Chisholm once said (and she knew a thing or two about education herself, having obtained a master's degree in elementary education before serving in Congress), "Rhetoric never won a revolution yet." If we are going to truly change our schools for the better, we've got to produce more than rhetoric.

Which is why, as Valentine's Day approaches, my heart swells to tell you that NEA is not just "talking the talk" but "walking the walk"—with Tom Joyner, no less.

Joyner, a nationally syndicated radio personality and philanthropist, is partnering with NEA by providing $700,000 in financial aid, in addition to NEA's professional development expertise, to aid unlicensed teachers in completing their certification requirements. These scholarships will enable qualified education students—as well as unlicensed teachers already working in public schools with large minority student populations—to participate in programs at seven Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to prepare them for licensing exams.