KC Education Enterprise

Mars and Male Anatomy

jwmartinez — Tue, 14 May 2013 22:10:22 +0000

Artist’s rendering of a Mars Exploration Rover. Illustration Credit: Image by Maas Digital LLC for Cornell University and NASA/JPL. Compatible 3D conversion by http://www.anachrome.com in the public interest. No copyright applied. Accessed 14 May 2013 from Wikimedia Commons, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:NASA_Mars_Rover.jpg

Usually my daughter eats a hot lunch at school, but today I had to pack a sack lunch for her to take on a field trip. Her class is going to hear a talk at the Kauffman Center sponsored by National Geographic. The speaker is Kobie Boykins, a NASA engineer working with the Mars missions.

Based on the title of this post, you ‘re probably wondering what Mars and male anatomy have in common, right? I’ll get to that.

First, I should probably mention that my daughter is 13 years old and in seventh grade. As a substitute teacher, I’ve learned over the years to be very careful of my language in middle school classrooms. I don’t mean avoiding obvious bad language or innuendos. These are young people whose endocrine systems are flooding their developing bodies and minds with hormones. They will hear double entendres in words and phrases I never imagined might be taken that way until hearing a class of middle school students snickering and thinking, “What did I say? What did I say?”

So I was talking with my daughter yesterday about the field trip, saying something parental such as “That sounds like a fascinating topic.” And then my daughter informs me that the reason she’s looking forward to the field trip is because she’s heard the NASA engineers programmed a Mars Rover to draw a penis on the moon.

So there’s your connection between Mars and male anatomy, courtesy of the middle school mind. Snicker, snicker.

Out of curiosity, I Googled the topic (never in my life thought I’d be using the Google search terms “penis on Mars”) and found this, in case you want to see pictures (no graphic images, just some lines in the red dust of Mars, but if your workplace is especially conservative, you might want to wait until you get home to click this link): http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/24/mars-rover-penis-draws-nasa_n_3148422.html

It’ll take you to an article published by the Huffington Post titled “Mars Rover ‘Draws’ Penis On Red Planet & NASA Picture Goes Viral (PHOTO, VIDEO).”

The things I learn as the parent of a middle school child.

Snicker, snicker.

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Read our Twitter feed for more education news from local, regional and national sources:http://twitter.com/#!/JW_Martinez

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The KC Education Enterprise has a new sister site, KC Education Research Updates, with occasional news from researchers and neuroscientists of interest to educators.

Second Thoughts: High School Rankings Revisited

jwmartinez — Tue, 14 May 2013 03:59:36 +0000

Lincoln College Prepatory Academy

A couple of years ago, when I started publishing the KC Education Enterprise, I dashed off a little article about some local entries on a national list of “America’s Best High Schools.”

At the time, I was new to blogging and thought of such posts as ephemeral. But this story is like a ghost. It continues to haunt me.

Every time I check my readership statistics and see that people are still reading about the area’s “Six Best High Schools,” I feel dissatisfied with my work and want to add some nuances I missed at the time.

So here goes.

As a lifelong resident of the KC metro area, I’m proud of the quality learning and teaching taking place at a couple of our urban high schools. And I think it’s a given that students in our more affluent suburban districts will succeed academically.

However, I would like to see the day when more urban institutions are able to make lists such as Newsweek’s “Americas’ Best High Schools,” not just schools with the ability to select students with the best grades and behavior.

I’d also like to see the day when school funding does not depend on the value of homes in the district and is focused, rather, on students’ learning needs. Then, maybe, academic success won’t be so highly correlated with parental income.

I have to admit that when I published my original story, I chose to photograph Lincoln Prep, because one of my daughter’s friends — a bright, talented, beautiful child — had just been accepted there, and I was happy for her.

“Your friend is lucky to go to such a wonderful school,” I told my daughter.

To which my daughter replied in a somewhat bored tone, “I know. I know. You already told me.”

It occurs to me that we should all be as bored with the “Best High Schools” lists as my daughter was with my repeating her classmate’s good news. It was and is good news. But it’s boring good news.

Here’s what would be really interesting: a “best of” list including Kansas City, Missouri’s East, Northeast and Central high schools … a “best of” list including Kansas City, Kansas’ Schlagle, Harmon, Washington and Wyandotte high schools. I’d like to see “best of” list including all of our bright, talented beautiful children.

Not just some of them.

If you missed my original article, “Six Area High Schools Rank Among Best in the U.S.,” you can find it HERE.

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Read our Twitter feed for more education news from local, regional and national sources:http://twitter.com/#!/JW_Martinez

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The KC Education Enterprise has a new sister site, KC Education Research Updates, with occasional news from researchers and neuroscientists of interest to educators.

Money Trumps All: Reflections On The April School Board Elections

jwmartinez — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 19:28:13 +0000

Earlier this month, districts on both sides of the state line in the Kansas City metropolitan area elected slates of school board candidates. At least one of those candidates did not reply to the KC Education Enterprise candidate survey, saying “I have the endorsement of the NEA and the Kansas City Star,” and she thought that was sufficient to win the race. (Of course, she also had campaign signs, a website and knocked on an awful lot of doors.)

Sighing to myself, I did not argue, because that is the wisdom I had heard, as well. The received wisdom goes like this: Candidates with strategic endorsements are most likely to win, because voters will follow the advice of the newspaper or teachers’ union, especially since very little information about the candidates is readily available in most districts. In particular, I was told the NEA endorsement in particular was crucial for a campaign, because the union gets teachers out to vote, which can make a significant difference in elections with low turnouts, typical of school board elections.

Most district residents — even registered voters — are not always aware that a school board election is scheduled, and turnout is usually low. Even a handful of votes can make a difference. In the Hickman Mills School District, for example, where school board leadership will be critical in attempts to regain full accreditation, only about 10 percent of registered voters cast a ballot. Only 153 votes separated the winners from the losers. In other words, 154 voters — that’s not a whole lot of people — made a big difference in the lives of the students of that district. And that’s a typical turnout in school board elections.

Despite two major endorsements, however, the candidate who told me she was confident of success did not win. And that loss started me wondering about the received wisdom, curious to learn whether it is true.

I started by taking a look at all 18 contested school board elections during the general election earlier this month. Only seven of those races had endorsements. The Kansas City Star and the Missouri National Education Association (MNEA) endorsed 20 candidates in those races. (The Kansas NEA does not endorse candidates.) What that fact tells me is that endorsements are important in less than half the districts in the Kansas City metropolitan area.

But what about the races with endorsements? Surely those help candidates win campaigns. Well, maybe … and maybe not. Admittedly 20 candidates in seven races in one election is too small a sample to extrapolate from. But we can use this information to start examining patterns and asking questions about the conventional wisdom that says endorsements win campaigns. This year, slightly more than half of the 20 candidates with endorsements won; and slightly less than half lost. Based on that evidence, it appears endorsements have a neutral effect on campaigns.

Examining the numbers more carefully, however, it appears that one endorsement may help candidates more than the other. About half of those who received the Star‘s endorsement won, and half lost, so the newspaper’s backing ended up being a tossup for candidates. Of the ten receiving the endorsement of the teachers’ union, however, seven won and only three lost. Therefore, it appears that more voters may follow the advice of the MNEA when it comes to electing school board members.

In addition to endorsements, being an incumbent helps. Most (but not all) incumbents who run to retain their seats succeed.

Money also helps. Money allows candidates to print and post more signs reminding constituents about their campaigns. And money can be held over from previous — even losing — campaigns for offices such as seats in the state legislature. Which the incumbent candidate who planned to rely on the two strategic endorsements discovered, much to her chagrin. Her opponent had enough funds to saturate the district with signs. And — even more importantly — the night before the election, he had enough funds to pay for robocalls from a telemarketing office in Washington D.C. And he ended up winning by more than 200 votes.

With enough money, it doesn’t matter whether you are an incumbent or have the endorsement of the Star and the teachers’ union. With enough money, you can rely on people’s ignorance of the election. You can motivate those most likely to vote for you to turn out at the polls while most people don’t vote. With money, you can continually remind constituents about your candidacy throughout the campaign season, because everywhere they drive in the district, they see your signs. With money, you can ensure that if voters know nothing else about the school board candidates, they recognize your name. And there are people — lots of people — who will vote for a candidate on the basis of name recognition alone.

So here’s what I think about the received wisdom: Endorsements are important, no doubt about it. Being an incumbent also helps. Posting campaign information online and getting out out to meet constituents help but are no guarantee; I’ve seen candidates win who did neither and candidates lose who did both. But money … well, money trumps all.

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Read our Twitter feed for more education news from local, regional and national sources:http://twitter.com/#!/JW_Martinez

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The KC Education Enterprise has a new sister site, KC Education Research Updates, with occasional news from researchers and neuroscientists of interest to educators.

NEW RESEARCH REPORT Ready, Willing and Able? Kansas City Parents Talk About How To Improve Schools And What They Can Do To Help

jwmartinez — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 02:41:14 +0000

Image credit: rmarmion / 123RF Stock Photo

THIS JUST IN … a new report from the non-profit, nonpartisan organization, Public Agenda: Ready, Willing and Able? Kansas City Parents Talk About How to Improve Schools and What They Can Do to Help.”

The Kansas City-based Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation funded the report.

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Read our Twitter feed for more education news from local, regional and national sources:http://twitter.com/#!/JW_Martinez

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The KC Education Enterprise has a new sister site, KC Education Research Updates, with occasional news from researchers and neuroscientists of interest to educators.

New Assessments for Future Missouri Teachers Being Phased In Over Next Two Years

jwmartinez — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 21:47:29 +0000

Photo Credit: 123rf stock image

News from Missouri’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education:

Vol. 47, No. 17
April 10, 2013

New Assessments for Future Teachers Being Phased In Over Next Two Years

As Missouri’s new standards for educator preparation take effect, several changes are ahead for students working to obtain teacher certification.

The standards, approved by the State Board of Education in November 2012, include new assessments being phased in over the next two years for prospective teachers as well as guidance counselors, librarians and school administrators.

The assessments are part of the new Missouri Educator Gateway Assessments (MEGA) program, a comprehensive approach for assessing the preparation of educators in Missouri.

“These new standards and assessments will help ensure Missouri is developing effective educators to provide the quality instruction students need for success in college, other postsecondary education and a career,” said Paul Katnik, interim assistant commissioner at the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. “The assessments focus on what it takes to be an effective educator.”

Preparing, developing and supporting effective educators is a primary goal of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Top 10 by 20 initiative, which calls for education in Missouri to rank among the Top 10 performing states in the nation by the year 2020.

The MEGA program assessments include:

Missouri General Education Assessment: This test for admission into undergraduate professional education programs at Missouri colleges and universities includes sections on English language arts, writing, mathematics, science and social science. The assessment is set to begin September 2013 and will replace the current College BASE (CBASE) test.
Missouri Educator Profile (MEP): This new assessment is designed to measure a person’s aptitude for working in the field of education. The MEP will begin in September 2013 and will assess the characteristics of individuals pursuing certification as a teacher, counselor, librarian, principal or superintendent.
Content Specialty and Pedagogy Assessments: These exit exams must be completed by prospective educators, including teachers, counselors, librarians, principals and superintendents, for all areas of certification they are seeking. The assessments are aligned with state and national standards and will begin in September 2014. They will replace the current Praxis test.
Missouri Standards-Based Performance Assessments: These new assessments for prospective teachers, counselors, librarians, principals and superintendents will measure their performance in content, coursework and clinical experiences, including internships and student teaching. The assessments will begin in September 2014.

Other new requirements for educator certification in Missouri include:

Grade point average: Higher grade point averages (GPA) will be required for educator certification, including a 2.75 cumulative GPA in college coursework, a 3.0 GPA in professional education classes, and a 3.0 GPA in content classes related to the certification a person is seeking.

More information about educator preparation can found at dese.mo.gov/eq/ep/.

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Read our Twitter feed for more education news from local, regional and national sources:http://twitter.com/#!/JW_Martinez

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The KC Education Enterprise has a new sister site, KC Education Research Updates, with occasional news from researchers and neuroscientists of interest to educators.

Kansas Helped Create New Next Generation Science Standards

jwmartinez — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 02:21:17 +0000

Photo Credit: 123rf stock image

This just in from Achieve, Inc.:

Final Next Generation Science Standards Released

State-created standards for science education in the 21st Century

Washington, DC – April 9, 2013 – On Tuesday, April 9, the final Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), a new set of voluntary, rigorous, and internationally benchmarked standards for K-12 science education, were released.

Twenty six states and their broad-based teams worked together for two years with a 41-member writing team andpartners to develop the standards which identify science and engineering practices and content that all K-12 students should master in order to be fully prepared for college, careers and citizenship. The NGSS were built upon a vision for science education established by the Framework for K-12 Science Education, published by the National Academies’ National Research Council in 2011.

The lead state partners include Arizona, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington and West Virginia.

“The NGSS aim to prepare students to be better decision makers about scientific and technical issues and to apply science to their daily lives. By blending core science knowledge with scientific practices, students are engaged in a more relevant context that deepens their understanding and helps them to build what they need to move forward with their education -whether that’s moving on to a four-year college or moving into post-secondary training,” said Matt Krehbeil, Science Education Program Consultant, of Kansas.

“This blending of the dimensions described in the Framework for K-12 Science Education aligns with what research has shown are the most effective practices in teaching science. Students who experience quality instruction based on the NGSS will be prepared to understand the world around them and will be college and career ready.”

“As emphasized in the Framework, an active learning of scientific practices is critical, and takes time. A focus on these practices, rather than on content alone, leads to a deep, sustained learning of the skills needed to be a successful adult, regardless of career choice,” said Bruce Alberts, PhD, who is Editor-in-Chief of Science and served two six-year terms as President of the National Academy of Sciences. “We must teach our science students to do something in science class, not to memorize facts.”

The creation of the NGSS was entirely state-driven, with no federal funds or incentives to create or adopt the standards. The process was primarily funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, a leading philanthropy dedicated to improving science education in the U.S. The NGSS are grounded in a sound, evidence-based foundation of current scientific research-including research on the ways students learn science effectively-and identify the science all K-12 students should know.

“In Michigan, our conversation about education always includes workforce training. Whenever we adopt a new set of standards we make sure to promote the opportunities the standards afford, not just in terms of college readiness, but in terms of workforce readiness. That’s particularly relevant with the NGSS,” said Susan Codere, Project Coordinator for the NGSS in Michigan.

“The Next Generation Science Standards are going to pull together inquiry and practice, and recognize the role of engineering. Pulling together the cross-cutting concepts is going to be a challenge, but it’s really effective pedagogy,” said Ellen Ebert, Washington State’s Director of Science for Teaching and Learning at the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. “In Washington State we’re looking at the NGSS to propel students into 21st century-we’re looking at college and career readiness. This is a real opportunity to help students see the potential of science in their lives.”

“The Next Generation of Science Standards promise to help students understand why is it that we have to know science and help them use scientific learning to develop critical thinking skills-which may be applied throughout their lives, no matter the topic. Today, students see science as simply a list of facts and ideas that they are expected to memorize. In contrast to that approach education researchers have learned, particularly in the last 15 to 20 years, that if we cover fewer ideas, but go into more depth, students come away with a much richer understanding. Unlike previous standards, where you have separation of inquiry and ideas that students should know, in the NGSS they are now together,” said Joseph S. Krajcik, Professor of Science Education in the College of Education at Michigan State University and a member of the writing team.

Achieve, a non-partisan nonprofit education organization, coordinated the states’ efforts.

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Read our Twitter feed for more education news from local, regional and national sources:http://twitter.com/#!/JW_Martinez

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The KC Education Enterprise has a new sister site, KC Education Research Updates, with occasional news from researchers and neuroscientists of interest to educators.

Platte County Students Say They’re Still Hungry After Eating School Lunches

jwmartinez — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 19:22:06 +0000

Illustration Credit: pussy willow photo by permission from 123rf stock images; My Plate poster from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, art editing by KC Education Enterprise

Platte School District’s Board of Education met Thursday evening, March 28. From a policy standpoint, the highlights of the agenda were:

A legislative update; and
A report evaluating the district’s food service program, which included surveys of students and staff. Only about 40 percent of students surveyed agreed with the statement, “Considering the cost of school lunch, I am served enough food.” According to the report:

OPAA! [the food service contractor] is aware of this data and understand that different students have varying caloric needs; but these meals are designed to meet food cost, federal nutrition guidelines and are designed to sustain a particular age group for a specified period of time.

In addition, according to the report, food costs are an issue for the district:

The fixed cost of district meals does not allow the district to break even on the total cost of food served.

Compliance with the new federal Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act has led to complaints by students in districts not just in Platte County but nationwide. And a protest video created by a group of Kansas students has gone viral:

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Read our Twitter feed for more education news from local, regional and national sources:http://twitter.com/#!/JW_Martinez

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The KC Education Enterprise has a new sister site, KC Education Research Updates, with occasional news from researchers and neuroscientists of interest to educators.

Park Hill School District Board of Education Meeting — Thursday, March 28

jwmartinez — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 01:55:28 +0000

Park Hill School District’s Board of Education met Thursday evening, March 28. From a policy standpoint, the highlights of the agenda were:

A “Demographic Profile” report projecting increasing enrollment resulting in a need for building new schools about eight years from now;
A report on development of next year’s budget projecting no change in property tax revenues, a slight increase in sales tax revenues, a slight increase in state funding and a $200,000 decrease in federal funding due to sequestration.

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Read our Twitter feed for more education news from local, regional and national sources:http://twitter.com/#!/JW_Martinez

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The KC Education Enterprise has a new sister site, KC Education Research Updates, with occasional news from researchers and neuroscientists of interest to educators.

North Kansas City School District Board of Education Meeting — Tuesday, March 26

jwmartinez — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 17:25:04 +0000

North Kansas City School District’s Board of Education met Tuesday evening, March 26. From a policy standpoint, the highlight of the agenda was discussion of school bond and property tax levy issues.

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Read our Twitter feed for more education news from local, regional and national sources:http://twitter.com/#!/JW_Martinez

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The KC Education Enterprise has a new sister site, KC Education Research Updates, with occasional news from researchers and neuroscientists of interest to educators.

Liberty School District Board of Education Meeting — Monday, March 25

jwmartinez — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 17:09:34 +0000

Liberty School District’s Board of Education met Monday evening, March 25. From a policy standpoint, the highlights of the agenda were:

Proposed revision of district policy governing “School Board Ballot Issues“
Unanimous approval of the Northland Advanced Career Studies Program “Memorandum of Understanding” and “By-Laws”
A stadium committee report proposing a new $8 million stadium at Liberty High School to be shared with Liberty North
A “Graduation Follow-Up Procedural Evaluation” showing that 81 percent of Class of 2012 graduates contacted are enrolled in traditional post-secondary institutions but only 38 percent “reported majoring or working in a career education field related to career education courses they studied in High School.” Followup recommendations included:

Continue to evaluate trends in typical career education fields to ensure career and technical education programs are addressing high needs that our students are interested in pursuing.

Investigate the capabilities of the software program Naviance for developing four-year graduation plans with specific career interest areas. Also, investigate the accuracy of the graduate follow-up reporting available through Naviance to determine if it meets our needs to analyze data regarding our graduates beyond the 180-day mark.

Adjust curriculum as needed to meet the changing demands of our students and the workplace.

A federal sequestration update. According to the agenda:

An estimated $149,873 of federal funding will be reduced next fiscal year as a result of the Federal Sequestration Order.

A report on state funding. According to the agenda:

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) currently indicates the funding level to be at a 92.710946 percent proration factor. The 7.29 percent reduction in funding means a loss of $3,636,464 for the District that will not be recouped.

A report estimating a 28 percent enrollment increase over the next eight years.
Information about financial constraints:

LPS is currently out of bonding capacity due to rapid growth and low assessed valuation.

LPS has the highest debt service $1.19, and total levy $6.09 of all peer districts in K.C. and St. Louis.

LPS has the lowest assessed valuation per child of all peer districts in K.C. and St. Louis.

Budget projections based on current economic conditions and growth projections for the next eight years show the district would need an additional local levy of more than $3.00 prior to FY21 to maintain current staffing and facility planning model.

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Read our Twitter feed for more education news from local, regional and national sources:http://twitter.com/#!/JW_Martinez

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The KC Education Enterprise has a new sister site, KC Education Research Updates, with occasional news from researchers and neuroscientists of interest to educators.