Recently in Schools K-12 Category

Source: Robert S. McCord, Noelle M. Ellerson, American Association of School Administrators, March 2009

From the press release:
Schools across the nation are planning significant cuts in their 2009-10 school year budgets, in spite of some $100 billion in education funding included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, according to a new study from the American Association of School Administrators. The study, "Looking Back, Looking Forward: How the Economic Downturn Continues to Impact School Districts," is based on a survey of school administrators conducted in February and March 2009.

According to the new study, the impact of the economic downturn on schools is widespread and has worsened over the past six months. Seventy-five percent of administrators who responded to the survey described their districts as "inadequately funded." That percentage has increased eight points since October 2008, when 67 percent of administrators described their districts as "inadequately funded" in the "AASA Study of the Impact of the Economic Downturn." In both studies, the downturn reached across districts, regardless of geographic area, district type (rural, suburban or urban) or district size.

Source: PBS NOW, Week of 5.1.09

Do we need to gut our public schools in order to save them?

How is Secretary of Education Arne Duncan going to spend $100 billion in stimulus money--almost twice the education budget--to fix our nation's schools? During his seven years running Chicago's public schools, Duncan went head to head with the teacher's union and skeptical parents by closing down low-performing schools, getting rid of all the teachers, principals, even the janitors, and reopening them with new staffs as "turnaround schools."

It's a drastic step, but the results have been promising. This week, NOW travels to Chicago to investigate the collateral damage of a top-to-bottom school makeover, and to get a glimpse of what the future of education might look like for the rest of the country.
See also:
- Issue Clash: Merit Pay
Two experts go head to head on the divisive issue of merit pay for teachers.

- Extended Interview: Arne Duncan
The Secretary of Education did his homework for the job by implementing drastic changes in Chicago. What did he learn?

- In Your State: Stimulus Spending on Education
See how your state plans to spend its share of the $100 billion in stimulus funds devoted to education.

Source: Paul E. Peterson, Henry Lee Shattuck, Eric A. Hanushek, Martin R. West, Florida State Board of Education, March 16, 2009

From the press release:
Despite the current economic crisis, Florida has a unique opportunity to improve its current K-12 education system by protecting policies that provide incentives for higher achievement while cutting back on those that do not contribute to performance, according to a new report co-authored by three scholars at Harvard Kennedy School, Stanford University, and Brown University.

Source: Ron Zimmer, Brian Gill, Kevin Booker, Stephane Lavertu, Tim R. Sass, John Witte, RAND Corporation, 2009

From the press release:
While the number of charter schools continues to grow, debate continues about whether charter schools provide a better education experience than traditional public schools. Proponents contend that charter schools expand educational choices for students, increase innovation, improve student achievement and provide much-needed competition to public schools.

Opponents, meanwhile, argue that charter schools lead to increased racial or ethnic stratification of students, skim the best students from traditional public schools, reduce resources for public schools and provide no real improvement in student achievement.

A new RAND Corporation study examining charter schools in Chicago, San Diego, Philadelphia, Denver, Milwaukee, and the states of Ohio, Texas and Florida is the first to use longitudinal, student-level data to systematically examine these issues across multiple communities and varied charter laws.

Source: Zoë Neuberger, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, March 3, 2009

Key Findings

Federal law requires school districts to automatically enroll children for free school meals if their families receive SNAP benefits. This automatic enrollment, known as direct certification, is highly accurate and reduces paperwork for school districts and poor families.

* A new USDA study finds that states vary widely in the performance of their direct certification systems. Sixteen states miss more than two in five children who could be automatically enrolled for free school meals.
* Many children overlooked by direct certification fail to receive free school meals because their parents do not complete a paper application.
* States can take steps to improve direct certification, such as automatically connecting children who begin receiving SNAP benefits in the middle of the school year to free school meals.

Source: Jingzhen Yanga, Corinne Peek-Asab, Gang Chengc,Erin Heidena, Scott Falbe and Marizen Ramirezb, Accident Analysis & Prevention, Volume 41, Issue 2, March 2009
(subscription required)

From the abstract:
Crashes in the state of Iowa were examined from January 2002 through December 2005. School bus crashes were identified through the Iowa Crash Data, a comprehensive database of all reported crashes in the State of Iowa. School bus mileage data were provided by the Iowa Department of Education. School bus crash, fatality, and injury rates were calculated and differences in crash and injury characteristics between school buses and other vehicles were examined.

School buses experience low crash rates, and the majority of crashes do not lead to injury. Buses are among the safest forms of road transportation, and efforts to educate drivers of other vehicles may help reduce crashes with buses.

Source: Stephen P. Ashkin and Rochelle Davis, Healthy Schools Campaign, 2008
(free registration required)

From the press release:
Healthy Schools Campaign (HSC) is pleased to announce the release of the improved and expanded second edition of the Quick & Easy Guide to Green Cleaning in Schools. The second edition includes new sections on sustainability, green cleaning for food service, integrated pest management, new technologies and more. It was developed with the support of 16 national education stakeholder organizations and 39 cleaning industry corporate leaders following the distribution of more than 70,000 copies of the popular and highly-regarded first edition.

The guide includes a handbook outlining five simple steps for setting up a green cleaning program, such as switching to green cleaning products and equipment, adopting new cleaning procedures, introducing green paper and plastic products and involving all school stakeholders in the process. An accompanying CD contains comprehensive information, practical advice, tools and resources to help schools learn more and institutionalize their efforts. The new guide includes an enhanced purchasing directory with more than 500 products that meet HSC's environmental standards for schools.

Source: Jan Mueller, Environmental and Energy Study Institute, October 21, 2008

Making schools "greener" is not just about buildings. Transportation of students and staff to and from school is an important component of a school's environmental and greenhouse gas footprint. School buses play an important role in minimizing that footprint, but they present unique challenges and opportunities in reducing fuel use, emissions, and health impacts.

Source: Allison Armour-Garb and Thomas Gais, Rockefeller Institute of Government, Observations, February 2009

After a recession, school capital spending tends to take a hit. This time, that hit could be particularly damaging, as spending on K-12 construction and repair has yet to pick up from the 2003 downturn. But Congress is tackling the issue with provisions in the economic stimulus package.

Source: Michael Griffith, Education Commission of the States, February 13, 2009

On this President's Day, President Obama plans on signing the federal "Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009" into law. This act contains $789 billion in new federal spending or tax cuts with up to $100 billion potentially going to public education programs. This historic increase in education spending, and the changes that it will bring with it, may be difficult for some policymakers and their staffs to "get their heads around". For this reason ECS has prepared this preliminary summary to help explain:

1. How much new education funding states can expect to receive

2. How the funds will be distributed and how they can be spent

3. How policymakers can explain this new funding to their constituents

4. Things to think about.