April 2008 Archives

This dispatch comes from my colleague Lesli Maxwell, who has done a fabulous job covering recovery and reform efforts in New Orleans' public schools in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. As part of this special project, she's spent nearly nine weeks in the city on several different trips, getting to know the students, teachers, and the man who is running the schools of New Orleans.

Now that the Chicago media have reported that Paul Vallas, superintendent of the Recovery School District in New Orleans, is “open to running again” for governor in his home state of Illinois, there will be no tamping down speculation in the Crescent City that the hard-charging schools chief is a short-timer. Today, picking up on reports of the speech that Vallas gave in Chicago on Monday, the New Orleans Times-Picayune has a story that raises good questions about who might succeed Mr. Vallas and whether his political aspirations might distract him from running the city’s post-Katrina system of low-performing schools.

Rumors about Vallas’ political ambitions began swirling soon after he got to New Orleans last summer, though some have been wilder than others. One charter school leader told me last fall that she heard that Vallas was sizing up whether to run for mayor of New Orleans! When I first asked Vallas about his gubernatorial plans early last fall, he was cagey, saying that he was committed to New Orleans and any talk of his next step would be premature.

I let a few months pass, and asked him again. He was still coy, but was willing to say that he’d be weighing the idea for the next six to eight months. Well, that deadline is approaching, and with his public statements in Chicago, it seems pretty clear that he wants folks (i.e. Democratic fundraisers!) to know that he is considering another run at the job. He narrowly lost the Democratic nomination to current Gov. Rod Blagojevich in 2002. Plus, his wife and sons already live in Chicago. And, he’s been frank about his intentions to stay in New Orleans not much past two years, enough time, he believes, to stabilize the troubled post-Katrina school system and set in motion some lasting reforms. On that timeline, he would be out of New Orleans in summer of 2009, plenty of time to put a campaign together for the 2010 race.

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If Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton weren't in a fierce political battle for their party's nomination, then students like Brian Griffin and Kaci Gardner probably wouldn't have gotten so involved in the campaign.

Growing up in a state like Indiana—as I did—you realize that presidential candidates don't pay much attention to you when your electoral votes are a foregone conclusion. (I think Indiana's electoral votes—there are 12 now—have gone to the Republican nominee since the dawn of time.)

Of course, it was mildly exciting when Indiana provided George H.W. Bush with his vice president. (That would be Dan Quayle.)

But that's nothing compared with the enthusiasm being generated in Indiana this week by Clinton and Obama. So as the Democrats slug it out before the May 6 primary, it's refreshing to see a state like Indiana become relevant—and its students become politically engaged—even if such relevance is likely to be short-lived.

Posted by Michele McNeil at 11:04 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

While the Democratic candidates are still trying to close the deal on the nomination, presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, is out showing his softer side by doing a tour of "forgotten places" in America - some of which just happen to be in potential swing states such as Ohio, Kentucky, and Arkansas. He wrapped up the tour last Friday in Arkansas, meeting with college students who've participated in the Our Kids Program, a mentoring program which helps provide positive role models for young black males - a pretty education-focused event, at least for McCain.

And he held an event with Mike Huckabee, Arkansas' popular former governor and until recently, a McCain rival for the GOP nomination. Huckabee made it clear he'll be stumping for McCain in the lead up to the general election. Huckabee is certainly more prone to discussing domestic policy issues than McCain, including education. I wonder if he'll be dispatched to help sell a kinder-gentler-cares-about-kids version of the Arizona senator to voters.

Posted by Alyson Klein at 11:51 AM | Permalink | 1 Comment | Recommend

I just returned from the campaign trail in Indiana, where I hung out with high school students who are working for both Democratic presidential candidates and where I attended a Barack Obama campaign event, a town hall meeting in New Albany, Ind.

You can read all about it in the next issue of Education Week - but here are some quick observations:

- Education is definitely a minor player in the Illinois Democrat's stump speech - but his criticism of the No Child Left Behind Act solicited some of the loudest applause of the day. Really. I couldn't even hear exactly what Obama said (something about the promise of the law going unfulfilled) because the audience response was deafening. If that's happening every time Obama - or Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York - brings up the law on the campaign trail, I can't imagine it won't have an impact if and when they get to the White House.

- Rigorous social studies classes can really make a difference. At least for some students. Most of the kids I met who were working for Obama, and at least one of Clinton's interns, had taken a course called "We the People," which was basically an intensive civics course focused on the U.S. Constitution. Many credited it with spurring their political involvement.

- High school kids can be just as "on-message" as any campaign communications director. I met some from Plainfield High School in Plainfield, Ind., who could rattle off the distinctions between Obama's and Clinton's health care and Social Security plans, which are relatively minor compared with their differences on those issues with Sen. John McCain.

- Obama has energized young people, including high schoolers, more than any other candidate in decades, according to Nathan Gonzales, a political analyst I talked to. But whether they stay involved in the long run could depend on whether Obama can deliver on his promises to change the political discourse if he gets to the White House. If Obama succeeds in his bid but isn't a successful president in the eyes of many of his young supporters, they could become disillusioned with politics, Mr. Gonzales told me. Something to look out for, if we end up with an Obama presidency.

Posted by Alyson Klein at 12:03 PM | Permalink | 2 Comments | Recommend

At a town hall meeting in the small town of Inez, Ky. yesterday, Sen. John McCain discussed how he would help rural America—including schools.

He said he wants to bring more high-speed Internet access to rural communities by starting a "People Connect Program" that encourages companies to build the infrastructure in exchange for tax breaks. He touted the importance of community colleges and alternative paths to teaching (such as Teach for America) for school districts that struggle to recruit educators.

Even as a significant amount of talk about education reform centers on the nation's struggling urban districts, it's important that the candidates recognize the issues facing rural schools.

And here's why:

In 2005-06, 20 percent of the country's public school students lived in large or mid-size cities, according to some number crunching I just did from data I pulled from the National Center for Education Statistics. That's 9.6 million students.

Would you believe that rural areas actually enroll more students? 10.6 million students, or 22 percent of the total.

Posted by Michele McNeil at 1:51 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

These kids picked Obama.

And even though the Democratic frontrunner signed their tardy slips, that wasn't good enough. Both have been suspended from a Scranton, Penn. high school.

Posted by Michele McNeil at 3:50 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Last month, I took John McCain to task for declaring that there's strong evidence linking autism and vaccines. I questioned what evidence he was referring to since research has found there's no such link.

Well now, Barack Obama has waded into this controversy, declaring the research has been "inconclusive".

Are the candidates reading the research? While they may certainly argue that more research is needed into the causes of autism, they should also acknowledge what the research has found—and that's no link between the mercury found in vaccines and autism.

Posted by Michele McNeil at 1:22 PM | Permalink | 2 Comments | Recommend

Today, voters in Pennsylvania are casting votes that will likely make or break Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.

At a rally in Scranton, the senator from New York admitted that "the last day is here."

Clinton is a big ally to the teachers' unions, and a champion of early education. And, she's still trailing Barack Obama in delegate counts. With the end to this heated two-way Democratic primary near—whether it comes immediately after today's primary or if it drags out until summer—I'm wondering what impact a Clinton departure would have on the debate about education in this race. Would a two-way race between Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona and Democratic Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois elicit more debate about reforming public schools, or even less? What do you think?

Posted by Michele McNeil at 11:22 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

William Ayers, the 1960s radical about whom Sen. Barack Obama was questioned at this week's Democratic presidential debate, is widely known in the field of education as a professor, commentator, and advocate for small schools and student rights.

Of course, Ayers doesn't exactly hide his past as a former member of the Weather Underground and someone who has acknowledged a role in, and has refused to apologize for, bombings the group carried out at the Pentagon, the U.S. Capitol, and the Department of State.

The debate exchange is here. The New York Times notes here what is behind the question, the fact that Sen. Obama served with Ayers for a time on the board of an offshoot of the Woods Charitable Trust, which focuses on poverty and welfare issues. The Washington Post notes in a story today that Ayers and his wife, Bernardine Dorhn, hosted a gathering for Obama in 1995 when Obama first ran for the Illinois Senate.

"Nearly 30 years after surrendering to police, Ayers and Dohrn, both in their 60s, are tenured university professors whose work on school reform and juvenile justice have won them bipartisan respect," says the Post, which even quoted a statement from Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley calling Ayers "a distinguished professor of education" and a "valued member of the Chicago community."

Ayers has appeared in Education Week many times. In 1987, he wrote this critique of What Do Our 17-Year-Olds Know?, the widely discussed report by Diane Ravitch and Chester E. Finn Jr. In 1995, he was featured in this news story about the push for small schools in Chicago.

In 1994, our sister publication Teacher Magazine, ran this rather lengthy profile of Ayers, which focused on his thoughts on developing good teachers and his involvement with efforts to improve Chicago's public schools.

Ayers is a professor in the department of curriculum and instruction at the University of Illinois-Chicago's College of Education.

Ayers also has his own Web site, www.billayers.org, where he has not yet responded to debate dustup, but early this month had this post after Fox News host Sean Hannity had called him an "unrepentant terrorist."

Posted by Mark Walsh at 4:08 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Richard Simmons!

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In case you missed Wednesday's Democratic debate in Pennsylvania ... well, you didn't miss much. The candidates very much like teachers, and still hate the No Child Left Behind Act.

And here are a couple of other good reads from this week:

USA Today's Richard Whitmire implies in a Politico piece that there is hope for us all... in that Sen. John McCain may make education a near-top tier issue.

My colleague David Hoff visited Pennsylvania for a pre-primary story that shows how voters can curse their way onto the American Federation of Teachers' "Do Not Contact" list.

And over at the Fordham Foundation's new Flypaper blog, Mike Petrilli finally has a forum to dish out all of those pent-up blog posts he's been harboring. ... Worth reading is this one that talks about Linda Darling-Hammond's response to a story in The New Republic about Sen. Barack Obama.

Posted by Michele McNeil at 4:50 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

It's very important, if you look at the lively comments being posted to a blog item that I wrote earlier this week in response to a Barack Obama speech. However, some of the commenters also pointed out that it's important not to overlook bad teachers. And one writer took exception to Obama's tone. Check out the dialogue going on, and please weigh in!

Posted by Michele McNeil at 2:04 PM | Permalink | 5 Comments | Recommend

John McCain delivered an important speech today on what he will do to fix the ailing economy. Although he didn't talk much the role of education, in a five-point plan he released today to accompany his speech, he identified education as central to making American workers more competitive And that's to his credit. (ED in '08 must be thrilled!)

But again, McCain seems to think school choice is the answer to improving education.

School choice may work to improve student performance and schools but I'm not sure even the most ardent school choice supporters (who should correct me if I'm wrong) believe that school choice, all by itself, will work to improve schools in each and every community.

Last week, for example, I traveled to rural South Carolina—to Kingstree Junior High. I made the trip as part of a story I'm doing about how the state is encouraging schools to pursue single-gender options for classroom learning—part of a bigger effort to bring more public school choices to South Carolina schools.

Kingstree is a very poor, mostly African-American community in the center of the state and about two hours from any of the big cities. The school has a dynamic new principal and a staff of hard-working, motivated teachers (including some from an international program because the school finds it difficult to recruit teachers to the rural area.) But the problems in this community are great. The median family income is about $17,000, school officials told me, and 80 percent of the junior-high students live in a single parent (or grandparent, or foster parent) household. Many of their parents are unemployed or unskilled laborers who must travel 70 miles one way to the Myrtle Beach tourist area for a job, which leaves the kids home alone and without transportation during after-school hours. Though there are some private schools in the area, there certainly aren't enough to absorb 470 junior-high school students if they all decided to go to private school.

For many students, Kingstree's public schools are the only option. This school illustrates how difficult it would be to implement a private school choice program—like the one McCain thinks will help fix public education—in the country's poor, rural areas.

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In Delaware, which has a hotly contested race for governor, funding public schools is becoming a big issue as the state faces a $250 million budget deficit.

And in Chicago, a new report says Latinos are particularly concerned about the issue, especially since they face long lines for prekindergarten programs in their neighborhoods and persistently high dropout rates.

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Democratic frontrunner Barack Obama, who has sent a strong message to families before about the importance of being a good parent, is continuing to expand that message.

According to this Associated Press story, Obama tells crowds that parents must set a curfew, make sure their children do their homework, meet with their kids' teachers, and set a good example.

This must be music to teachers' ears. He said:

And the last thing is, if your child is misbehaving at school don't curse out the teacher. You know who you are. It's not the teacher's fault that your child is misbehaving. That's some home training. You know what I say is true, though. Don't blame the teachers, and the government and the schools if you're not doing your job.

Posted by Michele McNeil at 11:03 AM | Permalink | 14 Comments | Recommend

Earlier we noted that a number of Democrats who barely squeaked into Congress in the 2006 election (with under 55 percent of the vote, according to the University of Virginia's Center for Politics) are on the House Education and Labor Committee.

Only three incumbent Republicans retained their seats with a similar vote proportion. One is Rep. Ric Keller of Florida, who is the ranking member on the House subcommittee overseeing higher education and a long-time advocate for increasing federal Pell Grants for low-income students.

Another is Rep. Mark Souder of Indiana, a member of the conservative Republican Study Committee, a caucus that has been critical of the No Child Left Behind Act's expansion of the federal role in education.

The third is Rep. John R. "Randy" Kuhl Jr. of New York. In 2005, Kuhl was one of a handful of Republicans who voted against a proposal authored by Rep. John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, then-education committee chairman and now minority leader, which would have given private school vouchers to students displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Kuhl is running against his 2006 opponent, Eric Massa, a former naval officer, who already has a statement up on his Web site criticizing NCLB for forcing educators to narrowly focus on standardized tests.

Both Keller and Souder voted for NCLB in 2001. Kuhl wasn't in Congress at the time.

Look for all three Republicans to have potentially interesting re-election campaigns or serve as possible swing votes on contentious issues this year, particularly if an NCLB reauthorization bill makes it to a committee vote in the House.

Posted by Alyson Klein at 2:54 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

So, according to this New York Times story, Democratic super-delegates, as well as regular voters, are getting pressured into voting for Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. (and in some cases, rival Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y.) by their kids.

And apparently supporters are going after the Sponge Bob vote, via Web sites such as Yrmomma4obama, which includes pro-Obama text messages kids can send their parents (in English and Spanish!) The Yrmomma4obama Web site includes a list of reasons why kids should encourage their parents to vote for Obama ... none of which mention education. Obama's own campaign Web site has a section for kids, although some of the language may be beyond that of the average 7-year-old (i.e. advice to "draw a picture of Sen. Obama or an 'expression of democracy.'")

There's also a KidsforHillary site that mentions that "politicians controle [sic] the kind of schools we go to." Presumably a push for schools to be better at teaching spelling?

Wonder whether either candidate will see this story and decide to start more actively courting the "kid" demographic ... a federal limit on homework, perhaps?

Posted by Alyson Klein at 11:31 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

The presidential campaign of Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., may have put some officials at a New York City high school in a sticky situation, after filming students doing their own version of the candidate's "Yes We Can" speech as part of a class project.

The campaign sent the video out as part of an e-mail to potential donors and posted it on Obama's campaign Web site. That's apparently a violation of the New York City school system's regulations, which prohibit filming in school buildings for political purposes, according to the Daily News account. But Mark Sweeting, the principal of the Bronx High School for Performance and Stagecraft, argued the filming of the video at his school did have an educational purpose.

"The bottom line is I have a senior Hispanic female student that is now interested in politics. I have a male African-American student that is being raised by a single mother that is now in tune with what a superdelegate is," Sweeting said. "That to me is outstanding. That to me is inspirational."

What do you think? Is this a completely inappropriate use of school resources? Or a great way to get kids to care about the nitty-gritty inside baseball of the primary? Let us know in the comments section.

(Update: Watch the video below.)

Posted by Alyson Klein at 10:40 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

In Ohio, election officials have levied their biggest fine ever—$5.2 million— against a school-choice lobbying group called All Children Matter.

The group has been involved in numerous states across the country, and as the 2008 election season heats up in the states, it's one worth keeping your eye on.

I've been following All Children Matter since it started running ads in 2004 in Indiana Statehouse races when I was a reporter for The Indianapolis Star. Though its purpose is to get school-choice-advocates into local and statewide office, the Michigan-based All Children Matter, which has its money-raising PAC in Virginia, uses controversial tactics. The group often comes to local races late in the game, using direct mail, and television and radio ads to hit candidates on polarizing issues such as illegal immigration and, in the Indiana case, same-sex marriage.

And in the Ohio case, its tactics didn't pay off. The All Children Matter Virginia PAC sent $870,000 to its local Ohio PAC, but the fine was more than five times that amount. The violation, according the media reports of the Ohio Elections Commission meeting, occurred because the Virginia PAC wasn't registered in Ohio.

Posted by Michele McNeil at 1:23 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

If you want some insight into Sen. John McCain's education ideas, check out this Associated Press story, which mentions a key adviser to his campaign.

Former Florida and fellow Republican Gov. Jeb Bush.

McCain, who was campaigning in Florida with Bush's successor, Gov. Charlie Crist, said he's been seeking Bush's advice on education for the last couple of years, and would continue to do so if elected in November.

Bush, who was a big supporter of school vouchers, standardized testing, and merit pay for teachers during his 1999-2007 term in office, has been working on beefing up his education legacy through a new foundation he unveiled last month. In fact, the head of his foundation is also responsible for helping revive his voucher plan for failing schools, which was struck down by the Florida Supreme Court in 2004.

McCain doesn't have an incredibly deep bench of education advisers, nor does he talk much about education. So relying on Bush, who made education a top priority (even if many didn't agree with his methods), is probably a smart move for McCain.

Posted by Michele McNeil at 4:36 PM | Permalink | 2 Comments | Recommend

Alexander Russo offers an interesting case study in Slate on a 1999 dispute over who hires and fires principals in Chicago—and what Sen. Barack Obama's actions mean for changes in education policy if he wins the presidency.

Essentially, Russo paints a picture of an Obama who stood on the sidelines as then-Chicago Public Schools Superintendent Paul Vallas went to the Illinois Legislature in an effort to wrest more control over his principals from local school councils. The story quotes a Republican state legislator who said Obama wasn't really that bold, or creative, when it came to education.

Russo writes:

The story of Obama's involvement suggests that on similarly contentious fronts involving national education policy, like the No Child Left Behind Act, he might respond the same way—holding back when powerful interest groups collide, only to support the status quo of local control in the end. The candidate's Chicago record on education also raises questions about his much-vaunted ability to bring different sides together to find lasting solutions.

And:

Obama didn't really have to stand up to anyone—not the groups he was affiliated with, not Vallas, not Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley. He was just approving the final result. He remained loyal to his roots, but only when it was easy to do so.

So Obama stood back while the real negotiations went on, jumping in only at the end, when it was easy, according to Russo.

This might be a pattern with Obama. Just last week, The Washington Post detailed a 2006 incident in which a bipartisan group of senators had hashed out a deal on immigration policy. While heading to the press conference, these senators encountered Obama, who said, according to the Post story: "Hey guys, can I come along?"

Posted by Michele McNeil at 3:03 PM | Permalink | 1 Comment | Recommend

Apparently even teachers' unions believe voters aren't really thinking about education this election cycle.

The American Federation of Teachers is running a radio ad for its endorsed presidential candidate, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., in the primary battleground of Pennsylvania. The ad doesn't mention education or schools at all, although one of three voters featured in the ad is a teacher. The others are a "retired university professor" and a former Navy careerist. One voter says she's "worried we're falling into a recession" -- more evidence of how the economy has trumped education. Another says that the presumptive Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, won't represent "a change" from the Bush administration, an apparent nod to foriegn policy, terrorism, and the war in Iraq.

No one in the ad says anything about merit pay, American competitiveness, or funding for public education. There's not even a vague reference to "better schools" or "our children's future." Disappointing. But not really surprising.

Posted by Alyson Klein at 4:36 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

On this April Fool's Day, the Fordham Foundation has a particularly entertaining issue of its Education Gladfly.

For those of us still wondering if the $60 million in foundation money from Gates and Broad will make any difference in the presidential election, the Fordham Folks have this to say...

...which is a parody of this real ad by ED in '08:

Posted by Michele McNeil at 2:46 PM | Permalink | 1 Comment | Recommend

Arizona Sen. John McCain, who until yesterday barely said boo about education, now has the solution to our education ills:

Every child should be blessed with a teacher like I had, and to learn at institutions with high academic standards and codes of conduct that reinforce the values their parents try to impart to them.

This snippet from a speech he gave today was set against the backdrop of Episcopal High School, (pictured above), a private boarding school in Alexandria, Va., where Sen. McCain got his diploma in 1954. (Photo credit: Episcopal High School web site).

In his speech, Sen. McCain spoke eloquently about the influence of the school's teachers and its honor code, and how those high school years from 1951 to 1954 were among the happiest of his life. While attending school there, Sen. McCain participated in yearbook, the drama club, and wrestling.

He acknowledged, in his speech, that not everyone has those experiences. Half of African American and Hispanic students don't graduate on time, he said. The country's math and science scores are near the bottom of industrialized countries, he continued.

He touted merit pay for teachers, and encouraging more people, especially military veterans, to turn to teaching as a career. And, he said parents should be able to get their kids out of bad schools and into good ones.

Presumably, good ones like Episcopal.

Episcopal has an average class size of 12—a public school teacher's dream. The school also gets to pick and choose who it educates. For the 2007-08 school year, 668 students applied, and 197 were accepted. Although 30 percent of its students receive financial aid, this education comes with a hefty price tag:

$38,200 a year.

That's more than the median family income of a black family in the U.S., which was $31,969 a year in 2006, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

In this speech, McCain talked more about education than at any other time in the campaign. But he left out something important. He didn't say what families should do if they can't afford a better school, whether it be a pricey Episcopal, a less expensive inner-city Catholic school, or another public school across town that's the price of city bus fare everyday.

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