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| Federal Update: January 14, 2012 |
| posted by: Ruthie | January 14, 2013, 10:27 PM |
|
Longer School Year: Helpful or Harmful? Recently, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, and Tennessee transitioned to a three-year pilot program that adds 300 hours to the school year. The program will affect nearly 20,000 students in 40 schools. The news comes on the heels of bipartisan recommendations from federal lawmakers and reform advocates who are calling for increased instruction time. Supporters argue that students tend to lose too much knowledge during the long summer break. According to recent data, this fact is unarguable. "The research is very clear," said Charles Ballinger, executive director emeritus of the National Association for Year-Round School in San Diego, California. "The only students who don't lose are the upper 10 to 15 percent of the student body. Those tend to be gifted, college-bound, they're natural learners who will learn wherever they are." Other supporters of this new system maintain it would give students access to more nutritious lunches and provide them with a safer environment for a greater portion of the year. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has been a vocal supporter of a longer school year. "Whether educators have more time to enrich instruction or students have more time to learn how to play an instrument and write computer code, adding meaningful in-school hours is a critical investment that better prepares children to be successful in the 21st century." Federal Early Childhood Education Programs Face Automatic Cuts As deadlines for sequestration, or automatic cut, approach quickly, federal early childhood education could be first to face steep cuts. Education advocates are unsure as to how the cuts, which would slice $653 million out of the nearly $8 billion Head Start program, will actually be implemented. Potentially, 100,000 children could lose access to the program. Due to the fact that the cuts were not defined, the Obama administration didn't release guidance on just how it would carry out the reductions, according to Hannah Matthews, the director of early-childhood education at the Center for Law and Social Policy, a research and advocacy organization in Washington. "With the cuts only postponed rather than canceled, we're still in a precarious position. Head Start isn't the only early-childhood program that would be squeezed by the trigger cuts. A portion of the roughly $5.2 billion Child Care and Development Block Grant program would also be sliced, amounting to about $187 million. Several States Risk Losing Race to the Top Grants As the Race to the Top grant implementation reaches a halfway point, several states risk losing part of their grants. Among these states are Hawaii, Georgia, and most recently, Maryland. In response to their struggle to implement the proposed teacher and principal evaluations, the U.S. Department of Education responded with a letter indicating several concerns. "The Department is concerned about the overall strategic planning, implementation, and evaluation of the state's teacher and principal evaluation system, including the quality of the school year 2011-2012 seven LEA pilot as well as communication with and supports provided to participating LEA's," the letter stated. Ann Whalen, who oversees the Race to the Top implementation said, "We are concerned about Maryland's rollout of its teacher evaluation system. They are making a relatively significant shift in their approach. As they put these changes into action, we will look to them to be thoughtful about how they execute their work." While the federal department waits for states to meet initiatives, they are allowing certain states to find alternative methods for implementing their promised reforms. These states have potential to lose hundreds of millions in funding. Senate to Take Closer Look at NCLB Waivers Currently, 35 state-based waivers have been issued in response to No Child Left Behind (NCLB) regulations. While these waivers provide states with flexibility on NCLB mandates, they also require states to embrace certain education reform priorities. A Senate panel has recently been formed to ensure state-based efforts are being pursued. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), said that details of closer examinations of waivers will be finalized soon. A Harkin aide said, "The Committee intends to examine how waivers are working in states to inform our work on NCLB. It will most likely come in the form of hearing, but all those of details are still being worked out." Lawmakers have already taken steps in the direction of oversight. Congressman George Miller (D-CA), raised the question of how the waiver will affect graduation rates. While the US Department of Education has issued 35 total waivers, they have also rejected waiver requests from California and Iowa.
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