From: "Public Education Network" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: PEN Weekly NewsBlast <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thu, 16 May 2002 14:17:07 -0700 Subject: PEN Weekly NewsBlast for May 17, 2002
Public Education Network Weekly NewsBlast "America's Favorite Free Newsletter on Improving Public Education" *************************************************************************** HIDDEN COSTS OF FREE TIME AND TALENT: DOING WITHOUT VOLUNTEERS If a job's worth doing, it's worth doing without volunteers, writes Nick Cater. In this thought-provoking article he asks if the negatives outweigh the positives when it comes to mobilizing and organizing volunteers. Do any volunteers truly pay their way by covering the cost of their administration, training, supervision and the increasingly ubiquitous "expenses", and how many are poor hand-holding substitutes for real resources: money, staff, housing, health? http://news.gilbert.org/clickthru/redir/4403/16991/rms MEETING THE NEEDS OF LOW PERFORMING URBAN SCHOOLS Try to imagine a vibrant city that does not have successful schools. Public concern about low performing schools, according to Professor Hal Lawson, is growing. According to this detailed report, it is apparent that school needs and community needs must be addressed simultaneously and interactively. It also becomes apparent that the label "low performing schools" is a mixed blessing. While this label promotes responsibility and accountability, it also conveys the false impressions that these urban schools can continue to operate as stand-alone organizations; and that educators are solely responsible for these schools' low performance profiles. http://www.albany.edu/~hlawson SPOTLIGHT ON SINGLE-SEX SCHOOLING Since the Bush administration announced last week that it would encourage single-sex education in public schools -- after 30 years of federal policy that discouraged it in most situations -- some educators are seeking models to guide them as they consider dividing up their classes. But that job could be complicated. Though studies on the subject exist, the results are mixed. Some, for example, show that girls do better in academics, athletics and social situations in all-girl programs and that their self-esteem improves. But a 10-year study in Australia found that self-esteem in girls and boys who had been in single-sex classes initially declined when they started going to coed classes, but then rose to new heights. There are only 11 public schools in the United States with single-sex education -- although many private schools offer the option -- and results are mixed in some schools that have attempted it. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11121-2002May13.html IMPROVING TEACHER QUALITY For a dozen years, educators and policy makers have advocated standards-based reform, convinced that every child needs to reach high academic standards in core subject areas and is capable of doing so. The theory is that student learning will improve when states set ambitious academic standards, align assessments to the standards, and hold schools and teachers accountable for how well students meet the expectations of the standards. It has become increasingly clear to researchers, however, that putting these pieces in place does not, by itself, ensure that students learn. States, districts, and schools must also dedicate resources to building teachers' content knowledge and instructional skills and providing additional instructional time for low-performing students if standards-based reform is to result in increased student achievement. If we know that the classroom teacher's knowledge and skills are the most important influences on how well students learn, why isn't every child in the United States taught by a qualified teacher? http://www.asbj.com/current/coverstory2.html SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER SURVEY: VIOLENCE LEAST OF SCHOOL WOES School shootings may loom large in the public's mind, but school board members have bigger problems -- only one in nine says school violence is a "major concern." A new survey by the National School Boards Association shows its members consider student achievement, special education, teacher shortages and balancing the budget more pressing issues. The vast majority -- about 77 percent -- say school violence is only a "moderate" or "mild" concern. http://www.cnn.com/2002/fyi/teachers.ednews/05/14/schools.violence.ap/index.html BUILDING A POWER BASE FOR BETTER EDUCATION A grassroots movement is underway to show how a school's disparate constituencies -- parents, teachers, principals and support staff -- can band together to solve problems. Their name captures their mission: "Alliance Schools." The aim is to give all parties, especially parents, in Los Angeles County, a say in how to improve a school, from controlling dangerous traffic on nearby streets to deciding how to spend the budget. The movement's organizing tools--house meetings, seminars and retreats--are designed to galvanize people around common concerns and prepare them to be active in civic affairs. http://www.latimes.com/news/education/ YOUTH, PORNOGRAPHY & THE INTERNET This new report examines approaches to protecting children and teens from Internet pornography, threats from sexual predators operating on-line, and other inappropriate material on the Internet. It discusses social and educational strategies, technological tools, and policy options for how to teach children to make safe and appropriate decisions about what they see and experience on the Internet. http://www4.nationalacademies.org/news.nsf/isbn/0309082749?OpenDocument A DECADE OF CHARTER SCHOOLS: FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE As an institutional innovation that's evolved over the past decade, is "charter schools" working? Are charter schools causing changes in the public school system? Are charter schools producing gains in student achievement? Are charter schools truly autonomous, and is that a good thing? http://www.cpre.org/Publications/Publications_Policy_Briefs.htm |---------------GRANT AND FUNDING INFORMATION--------------| "National Geographic Society Education Foundation" The National Geographic Society Education Foundation offers teacher grants, given directly to educators to facilitate their work in the classroom, school, district, and community. Teacher grant applications are accepted in the spring from any current teacher or administrator in an accredited school. Projects that have outreach to urban areas are particularly encouraged. This year, the Foundation will make $100,000 in grants of up to $5,000 each to help teachers -- or a group of teachers -- make an even greater impact in your classroom, school, district, and/or community through innovative geography education projects. Applications for the 2002/2003 school year or summer 2003 must be received by the Foundation no later than June 14, 2002. http://www.nationalgeographic.com/education/teacher_community/get_grant.html#anc hor_1 "Cable in the Classroom's Teacher Advisors" Cable in the Classroom is a 501(c)(3) educational non-profit organization that represents the cable telecommunications industry's commitment to education -- to improve teaching and learning for children in schools, at home, and in their communities. Cable in the Classroom and its members are looking for the 10 most excellent, media and technology savvy educators in the country to work with them in an ongoing way as advisors, mentors, and project consultants. Cable in the Classroom's teacher advisors will be paid a $4,000 annual stipend. In addition, their schools will each receive $1,000. Application deadline: July 1, 2002. http://www.ciconline.org/section.cfm/2/183 "Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (FREE)" More than 30 Federal agencies formed a working group in 1997 to make hundreds of Federally supported teaching and learning resources easier to find. The result of that work is the FREE website. http://www.ed.gov/free/ "Fundsnet Online Services" A comprehensive website dedicated to providing nonprofit organizations, colleges, and universities with information on financial resources available on the Internet. http://www.fundsnetservices.com/ "Department of Education Forecast of Funding" This document lists virtually all programs and competitions under which the Department of Education has invited or expects to invite applications for new awards for FY 2002 and provides actual or estimated deadline dates for the transmittal of applications under these programs. The lists are in the form of charts -- organized according to the Department's principal program offices -- and include programs and competitions the Department has previously announced, as well as those it plans to announce at a later date. Note: This document is advisory only and is not an official application notice of the Department of Education. http://www.ed.gov/offices/OCFO/grants/forecast.html "eSchool News School Funding Center" Information on up-to-the-minute grant programs, funding sources, and technology funding. http://www.eschoolnews.com/resources/funding/ "Philanthropy News Digest-K-12 Funding Opportunities" K-12 Funding opportunities with links to grantseeking for teachers, learning technology, and more. http://fdncenter.org/funders/ "School Grants" A collection of resources and tips to help K-12 educators apply for and obtain special grants for a variety of projects. http://www.schoolgrants.org QUOTE OF THE WEEK "We love the things we love for what they are." -Robert Frost (poet), "Hyla Brook" ===========PEN NewsBlast========== The PEN Weekly NewsBlast is a free e-mail newsletter featuring school reform and school fundraising resources. The PEN NewsBlast is the property of the Public Education Network, a national association of 70 local education funds working to improve public school quality in low-income communities nationwide. There are currently 44,150 subscribers to the PEN Weekly NewsBlast. Please forward this e-mail to anyone who enjoys free updates on education news and grant alerts. Some links in the PEN Weekly NewsBlast change or expire on a daily or weekly basis. Some links may also require local Web site registration. To view past issues of the PEN Weekly NewsBlast, visit: http://www.publiceducation.org/news/signup.htm To subscribe or unsubscribe, visit: http://www.publiceducation.org/news/signup.htm If you would like an article or news about your local education fund, public school, or school reform organization featured a future issue of PEN Weekly NewsBlast, send a note to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Andrew Smith is a regular contributor to the PEN Weekly NewsBlast. ---------- Howie Schaffer Managing Editor Public Education Network 601 Thirteenth Street, NW #900N Washington, DC 20005 202-628-7460 202-628-1893 fax www.PublicEducation.org ******************************************* For digest instead of individual postings, send the message: set k12newsletters digest to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe, click and send (no body or subject: required) mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] K12 Newsletters mailing list is a service of Classroom Connect - http://www.classroom.com Archives for K12 Newsletters can be found at: http://www.classroom.com/community/email/archives.jhtml?A0=K12NEWSLETTERS **********************************************************
