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The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor released numbers late last week from a longitudinal study that might make a high school principal shudder. The likelihood of a 20-year-old in the United States being employed and receiving some form of work training is reduced by almost half if that person is a high school dropout. While the United States is wringing its hands over how to keep its students in school and employable—especially in this tough economy—Britain’s Prime Minister Greg Brown has a plan for making his country and students more competitive.

Today’s UK newspapers—as well as a number of other media outlets in the U.S.—are abuzz over the news that three commercial companies—McDonald’s most notable among them—are now allowed to grant A-Levels, the equivalent of a high school diploma, to students based on completion of an apprenticeship program. Not unless you’re referring to the fast-food giant’s Hamburger University or its more recent offer to exchange happy meals for good grades, might you use “academic” and “McDonald’s” in the same sentence. But before you choke on your Egg McMuffin, consider this: an apprenticeship at the Golden Arches would provide students with the opportunity to learn about human resources, customer services skills, and the corporate titan's true genius—marketing.

Posted by Elizabeth Rich at 1:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The U.S. isn’t the only country trying to curb childhood obesity. In the UK, teachers are being “urged” in a cross-government strategy to police student lunch boxes for unhealthy choices, including “crisps,” fizzy soda, and chocolate. While schools here in the U.S. also warn of mealtime contraband and many districts are now requiring laps at recess, healthier choices in vending machines and school cafeterias, teachers so far do not typically include lunch box inspections on their list of required duties.

And teachers in Britain aren't too wild about the idea, either. The concern is that the burden of monitoring lunch boxes could be taking teacher and administration duties “a step too far,” according to John Dunford, head of ASCL, the teacher leader’s union for secondary schools. Dunford worries that the government could reduce teachers to the food police, “If we have a healthy lunch box policy—it’s a pretty short distance between that and Ofsted [the state inspection agency] coming in and saying you are failing in that duty if they spot a packet of crisps in a lunch box.” Maybe the UK government is just looking for an early escape route to making good on its promise to pay adults to lose weight.

Posted by Elizabeth Rich at 5:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

New York City’s Education Department has been working behind closed doors with 280 principals on a program that would put teachers under greater scrutiny than ever before, according to The New York Times. To date, the pilot program has been examining student test results to evaluate 2,500 teachers, some of whom had no idea they were being monitored. The data from the evaluations would be used to determine benchmarks for pay increases and tenure status for all of New York City's 77,000 public school educators.

The teachers are outraged that the education department would collect this sort of information without their knowledge, and plan to take the city to court if the program is put in place, “There is no way that any of this current data could actually, fairly, honestly or with any integrity be used to isolate the contributions of an individual teacher,” said Randi Weingarten, president of United Federation of Teachers, the city’s teacher’s union.

Since it’s only a pilot program, it’s still too early to say whether the statistical analysis will be used for tenure decisions, if it is used at all. Officials expect to make a decision on the program by “early summer.”

Posted by Chris Chester at 4:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Should teachers be able to give failing students a grade below a certain percentage? Teacher representatives in Dallas think so, demanding that district trustees reevaluate a policy that restricts teachers from giving students any grade below 50, according to dallasnews.com.

The policy is designed to give struggling students a chance to recover from poor work. But at a time when the school system is trying to raise standards and begin awarding teacher bonuses based on student achievement, members of the teacher group Alliance-AFT say the policy is “hypocritical,” and encourages a lax attitude in students. "Teachers need to be able to give the grades kids earn," says Aimee Bolender, the group’s president.

Advocates of the policy stressed that its purpose is to dissuade failing students from taking on defeatist attitudes and to afford them the opportunity to improve. Asks Superintendent Michael Hinojosa, “Are we interested in seeing kids fail or seeing them be successful?”

Posted by Danielle Woods at 3:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

There was a time when the high school health class was the exclusive province of physical fitness awareness and reproductive health issues. Things are more complicated now. With the adoption of a new state law by the Texas legislature, health teachers will soon expand their lesson plans to encompass a curriculum on parenting and paternity awareness developed by the state’s Office of the Attorney General. With rates of teenage pregnancies climbing, many educators and parents feel that teens in the state—and particularly boys—need more information about what it means both practically and legally to be a parent. Said one parent in support of the new law, “We all hate sometimes having to have these discussions, but I do think there are difficult things we need to talk about with these kids.”

Others have expressed concerns about the plan, noting how much material health classes have to cover already. Some also wonder whether the material will have any resonance with students at all. Donna Price, a secondary science and health academic coordinator for a district in Harris County, notes, “You're talking about 15-year-olds. For them to be able to cognitively process it and understand the consequences, you can only hope for the best.”

Posted by Chris Chester at 3:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

With the primaries in full swing, the leading presidential candidates are straining to show their differences from one another. But according to the Palm Beach Post, there's at least one thing they all seem to agree on—namely, that the nation's main education law "needs some work." All of the candidates want to change NCLB in some way, though in widely varying degrees. Proposals range from scraping the law altogether (Bill Richardson), to radically overhauling it (John Edwards), to improving funding (Barack Obama), to stressing school improvement rather than universal proficiency goals (Hillary Clinton), to giving some states added fexibility (Mitt Romney), to providing more options for school choice (Rudy Giuliani).

Some observers believe that the candidates are reacting to widespread public discontent with NCLB. "They're accurately responding to what they're hearing from their constituents," says Bob Schaeffer, public education director for Fair-Test: The National Center for Fair and Open Testing, a group that is critical of standardized testing. "For a candidate to get out campaigning and claim NCLB is working is to risk rejection from potential voters who know otherwise."

Posted by Amanda Jones at 4:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Bill Gates is leading the philanthropic educational crusade again—and this time it's about political awareness. Bloomberg.com reports that the Gates' foundation is donating $30 million to the bipartisan group Strong American Schools and their “Ed in 08” campaign, whose purpose is to make education a “top priority” in the presidential election.

According to Bloomberg.com, a Dec. 11 ABC News/Washington Post poll, in fact, reflects that only one percent of voters chose education as their overriding concern for the presidential campaign. “Ed in ‘08” is hoping the Gates’ financial support will change that. “The Gates name, the Gates brand, his commitment to philanthropy opens up lots of doors and avenues, based on their enormous amount of effort they put into improving schools,” said Strong American Schools Executive Director Marc Lampkin. A multimillion-dollar ad campaign targeting swing states and voting blocs including married women and Hispanics is planned for March, said "Ed in '08" Communications Director Chad Kolton.

Posted by Amanda Jones at 12:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Beyond the caucuses, life continues in Iowa with surprising irregularity. Thanks to a $200,000 grant from the Federal Language Acquisition Program, 230 elementary students in Kalona—population 2,300, 97% white, and historically Mennonite—are learning to speak Arabic, according to Sam Freedman of The New York Times. Kalona teacher Susan Swartzendruber, who learned Arabic while teaching in Egypt as part of a Mennonite social service program, convinced her school district to apply for the funding.

Twenty miles north of Kalona in Iowa City, Zahra Al-Attar heard through a posting at her mosque that an elementary school was looking for a native Arabic speaker to teach. Ms. Al-Attar, who was exiled with her family from Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war, had no idea what to expect. “When I first started, I thought, ‘Wow, Arabic in Kalona? What’s this going to be like?’ But everyone has been so welcoming.”

But the idea of teaching Arabic in Kalona has not been without opposition. Kalona principal Jim Cayton fielded complaints that Christians were being taught to be Muslims and some worried that students were learning “the language of the enemy.” Ms. Swartzendruber acknowledged the tension in the community: “Of course I was worried. There’s almost no diversity here, and most people have been here forever. But I thought, all the more reason to do it here. What better way to break down the stereotype…”

Posted by Elizabeth Rich at 12:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)