Last Post for 2007

Today's post is the final entry in The Comp Book for 2007. We'll be taking winter break from Dec. 21 - Jan. 2 to celebrate, ring in the new year and recharge for what will hopefully be a great 2008.

Before we bid you "Happy Holidays," here are a couple of things worth noting:

• Community farmers and environmental proponents will be urging Washington state lawmakers to consider legislation that would ease state laws so that school districts could purchase produce from local farms. The campaign is called "Local Farms -- Healthy Kids" and you can learn more here.
  
• The U.S. Department of Justice is sponsoring a National Missing Children's Day Poster Contest for fifth-graders to help raise awareness and teach children about safety. State entires are due by March 14 and should be submitted to Susan Miller, Washington State Patrol, Missing Person Unit, PO Box 2347, Olympia, WA 98507-2347.
  
• Is the 180-day school year going the way of the rotary-dial phone? That's the theory behind this Dec. 17 editorial that appeared in the USA Today.
  

As always, let us know what's on your mind about these topics or any other K-12 or principal leadership issues.

Happy Holidays!

Middle School Math Teachers in the U.S. ...

... are not as prepared to teach the subject as their peers in five other countries according to a new study out by researchers at Michigan State University.

The study, Mathematics Teaching in the 21st Century (MT21), suggests the training of middle school math teachers in the U.S. is not sufficient to teach a demanding math curriculum. MT21 studied how well a sample of universities and teacher-training institutions prepare middle school math teachers in the U.S., South Korea, Taiwan, Germany, Bulgaria and Mexico. Specifically, 2,627 future teachers were surveyed about their preparation, knowledge and beliefs in this area.

According to the study:

Compared to the other countries, the U.S. future teachers ranked from the middle to the bottom on MT21 measures of math knowledge.

“What’s most disturbing is that one of the areas in which U.S. future teachers tend to do the worst is algebra, and algebra is the heart of middle school math,” said William Schmidt, MSU Distinguished Professor of counseling, educational psychology and special education, who directed the study. “When future teachers in the study were asked about opportunities to learn about the practical aspects of teaching mathematics, again we ranked mediocre at best.”

You can view the entire report online or listen to a podcast by William Schmidt.

Penny for Your Thoughts

The holidays--and recent flooding here in Washington state--make us all wonder what we can do to help. And for children, that question is an even more daunting. But the folks at the nonprofit Common Cents may have found a simple and easy solution to such a difficult question. And it's likely in your pants pockets, car ashtray or desk drawer.

The Penny Harvest was started by a four-year-old (yes, 4) and her father. In 1991, young Nora Gross asked her father how she could help feed a homeless man. Searching for the "right" answer to his daughter's question, Gross' father, Teddy, was inspired by a loose change bowl in their house. Fifteen years later, Common Cents and the Penny Harvest have helped schoolchildren find a way to improve things in their communities with the smallest gifts of change. Common Cents has developed Penny Harvest Kits that schools, school groups, individuals and communities can use to start their own projects. According to the site:

During the 05/06 school year, almost a half million children from 770 New York City schools took part in the Penny Harvest, collecting nearly 185 tons of pennies or $655,508.54. After months of research and study, more than 7,000 children sitting on 521 Philanthropy Roundtables made 1,283 monetary grants to non-profits, such as women’s shelters, animal rights organizations, community gardens and senior centers, and carried out 309 Neighborhood Service projects. Every penny collected goes back to the community.

Check out the current New York City Penny Harvest in Rockefeller Center, a collection of 100 million pennies that's as long and wide as a city block! There's also Penny Harvest Centers springing up in Colorado, Florida, Tennessee and right here in Washington state.

He Ain't Heavy (He's My Backpack)

With more and more schools opting to forgo lockers, the burden of carrying around a day's worth of books is falling heavily on the shoulders of today's students according to this article from The Olympian (republished in The Seattle Times). Parents in North Thurston Public Schools are asking district officials to provide secure storage for student backpacks and other gear since bags are now overflowing with binders, books, instruments and other school supplies.

Did your school phase out lockers? If so, what are you doing to help students better balance their academic luggage? Any thoughts of reinstalling them?

An "A" in Marketing

Schools in Seminole County, Fla. are taking some flak today over a partnership with local McDonald's restaurants. Apparently the district inked a partnership deal with the local restaurants to cover $1,600 in printing costs associated with their report card jackets (right) for the 2007-08 school year. Students who receive A's and B's received a free Happy Meal coupon on the jackets of their report cards, which they can redeem at local McDonald's restaurants.

You can read more about it here, here and here.

Caught Being Good

A nice editorial in today's Walla Walla Union Bulletin about students being singled out for positive behavior in the Walla Walla Public Schools. From raising their grades to keeping the school grounds tidy, students are being praised (e.g., noticed) for contributing in a positive way.

Does your school or district have a similar program in place? If so, how has it been received? Has it changed anything at your school?

Reporting or Sales?

Today's New York Times has a column questioning the ranking of high schools, such as the new U.S. News & World Reports ranking mentioned in Tuesday's post. Author Samuel G. Freedman posits whether the listing of high schools is more about selling magazines than about journalism or the search for quality secondary schools:

Whatever this list represents in terms of journalism or public service, it must be understood also as an exercise in business, in extending the U.S. News brand, in helping it survive in a financial and technological climate hostile to news magazines. Having devoted annual issues to ranking colleges, graduate schools and hospitals, U.S. News has now brought the same approach to secondary education.

What do you think?

Tuesday Tidbits - Dec. 4, 2007

It's Tuesday, so it must be time for some K-12 tidbits!

• The Dec. 10 issue of U.S. News & World Reports includes its first ranking of "America's Best High Schools." But don't look for Washington schools on the list. The U.S. News & World Report researchers' ranking formula evaluated schools based on how well students performed on state reading and math tests, participation in AP and several other factors. You can view the list of schools in Washington state here. Schools are sorted into Gold, Silver and Bronze categories, with scores given for Poverty Adjusted Performance, Disadvantaged Student Performance Gap, College Readiness Index, Minority Enrollment and Disadvantaged Student Enrollment.
  
• While we're on the subject of graduation and high schools, Tacoma News Tribune Columnist Peter Callaghan has a noteworthy column today on the debate over college readiness for all students. Should all students be required to take college prep courses regardless of their post-graduate plans?
  
• Experience vs. Degrees? Apparently experience trumps degrees when it comes to K-12 teaching, according to a new study by the Washington State Institute for Public Policy. “In the first few years on the job, a teacher gains considerably in her or his ability to improve the academic performance of students,” the report concluded. Members of the state's Basic Education Task Force, will use the study in its analysis of basic ed funding. (Unfortunately, it does not look like this study has been added to the WSIPP site just yet.)
  

School in a Box

In case you missed it last night, CBS's "60 Minutes" profiled technology thinker Nicholas Negroponte and his "One Laptop Per Child" movement. The idea is simple: provide every child in the world with a laptop computer. But as with everything, the devil is in the details.

Negroponte, a professor at MIT, engaged some of his computer-minded colleagues to design a portable, battery operated computer (named the "XO") for use in a variety of conditions, since many of these laptops are given to children that live without electricity, let alone many of the other comforts of the modern world. The resulting machine (right) is waterproof and can operate in full sunlight (try that with your Dell) for about 10-12 hours. Outta juice? Try the hand crank or a device that looks like a salad spinner, and you can generate 10-20 minutes of online reading with a minute or two of turning, according to reporter Leslie Stahl.

From a technology perspective, this is groundbreaking. Negroponte, famous for his work at the MIT Media Lab, has created something revolutionary in the personal computing world. But as the professor observes in the "60 Minutes" piece and on his OLPC Web site, "it's an education project, not a laptop project."

But educationally, Negroponte has been taken to task by groups like Geekcorps for distributing the machines to students with no formal education. The professor counters that's even more reason for children and families in extreme poverty to have access to an XO:

"You’re saying give them a laptop even if they don’t go to school?" Stahl asks.

"Especially if they don’t go to school. If they don’t go to school, this is school in a box."

What do you think about distributing these machines to students with no formal education? And, what could your students learn from being involved in this project?

P.S.: If you are interested in buying an XO, try the "Give One, Get One" program: purchase one for yourself and donate another to the program.

Reading is So 20th Century

In our Nov. 20 issue of Tuesday Tidbits, we blogged about the fate of some school libraries, and the push by some parents and librarians to reclaim them. Now, coincidentally, comes a study indicating that U.S. student reading skills are stagnating or declining in comparison to their international peers.

Test results on the Progress in International Reading Literacy showed that U.S. fourth-graders are losing ground compared to other kids around the world. The test, which was administered last year, indicated that students scored at the same levels as they did in 2001, the last time the test was given. Students in 10 countries and three Canadian provinces scored higher than U.S. students. In 2001, only three countries were ahead of the U.S.

According to the Associated Press, the results also showed:

• Among jurisdictions that took the test in 2001 and 2006, scores improved in Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Italy, Russia, Singapore, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia.
  
  
• Average test scores declined in England, Lithuania, Morocco, the Netherlands, Romania and Sweden. England, the Netherlands and Sweden were the top three performers in 2001. Sweden still outperformed the United States this time, but average scores in England and the Netherlands were not measurably different from the U.S. average.
  
  
• Girls scored higher than boys in the United States and all other countries except for Luxembourg and Spain, where the boy-girl scores were the same.
  
  
• The average U.S. score was above the average score in 22 countries or jurisdictions and about the same as the score in 12 others. The U.S. average fell toward the high end of a level called "intermediate." At that level, a student can identify central events, plot sequences and relevant story details in texts. The student also can make straightforward inferences from what is read and begin to make connections across parts of the text.

Tracy Warner, the editorial page editor for The Wenatchee World, wrote this interesting piece ("Reading we mostly don't") about what the scores might say about our students and our culture in America. In it, he references a telling analysis of reading habits completed by the National Endowment for the Arts. "To Read or Not To Read" looked at 40 studies on the reading habits and skills of children, teens and adults. Among their key findings:

• Americans are reading less - teens and young adults read less often and for shorter amounts of time compared with other age groups and with Americans of previous years.
• Americans are reading less well – reading scores continue to worsen, especially among teenagers and young males. By contrast, the average reading score of 9-year-olds has improved.
• The declines in reading have civic, social, and economic implications – Advanced readers accrue personal, professional, and social advantages. Deficient readers run higher risks of failure in all three areas.

What do you think about the results? Are students in your schools less interested in reading for pleasure these days?

Coming Soon to NBC: Law & Order - TPU

That would be the Teacher Performance Unit in New York City.

Check out this recent story in The New York Times on a new task force compiled by NYC Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein. There are two groups, really: the Teacher Performance Unit comprised of five lawyers and a second team consultants that includes former principals. The mission of the TPU will be to remove tenured teachers for "ineffective performance" Klein told the Times.

The plan will reportedly cost $1 million a year to implement.

National Assistant Principals' Task Force

Assistant Principals will soon have their own task force through the National Association of Secondary School Principals. Earlier this month, NASSP appointed 15 members to its National Task Force on Assistant Principalship for Middle Level and High Schools. The group will examine the role of the assistant principal and challenges these practitioners face in today's middle and high schools. According to NASSP's Web site, the goals of the task force are to:

• Improve professional development for assistant principals.
• Deliver programs and resources to inform the day-to-day work of assistant principals as they manage the business of the school.
• Connect those day-to-day tasks to instructionally focused whole school collaborative leadership.

You can view a complete list of the new panelists, including full contact information for each, on the NASSP Web site.

Tuesday Tidbits - Nov. 27, 2007

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, here are a few "leftovers" to share with you in today's Tuesday Tidbits:

• NAESP is partnering with the White House Commission on Remembrance to host an official countdown to Memorial Day 2008. The event, Old Glory's Journey of Remembrance, will take place over the course of 23 Mondays between Dec. 7 of this year and Memorial Day 2008. The official Web site is still under construction (www.remember.gov), but here's the gist of the celebration:
  

On Dec. 7, a flag will fly on board the USS Arizona. On Monday, Dec. 17, that same flag will fly at a ceremony in Dutch Harbor, AK. The flag will then travel throughout the country, stopping at battlefields, memorials, and national cemeteries. At each of these stops, a ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. on a Monday morning.

The Commission is looking for 10 to 20 local school children, between third grade and sixth grade, who can attend the ceremony and help sing the National Anthem and a song, How Proud Are We, written especially for The Commission.

• Each year, AWSP tracks the movement of principals and assistant principals between positions in Washington state. In 2007, there were 670 principal and AP job changes in our state. Most of the changes (254) took place at the elementary level; there were 212 high school position changes and 162 at the middle level. About half (319) were advertised on the AWSP Web site. Need a point of reference? Last year, there were 605 changes (255 elementary, 131 middle and 195 high school). And in 2000, there were only 499 total job changes (205 elementary, 123 middle and 152 high school).
  
  
• The Washington State Supreme Court has held that surveillance video of students in public schools or in public school transit vehicles is public information. The case stems from a fight between two elementary school students in the Kelso School District. The students got into a tussle on a school bus which had security cameras on board. One of the parents of the students involved in the fight requested a copy of the tape, but was denied access by the district, which said it was part of the students' records. Said Justice Susan Owens in writing the majority opinion:
  

  Here, the surveillance camera serves as a means of maintaining security and safety on the school buses. The videotape from the surveillance camera differs significantly from the type of record the schools maintain in students' personal files.

Hey Mikey! He Likes It!

So much for the theory that kids won't eat healthy school lunches.

Researchers at the University of Minnesota found that school lunch sales don't decline when the daily fare includes healthy choices. Another bonus: healthy school lunches don't necessarily cost more to serve, either.

The study, which appears in the December issue of the Review of Agricultural Economics, analyzed five years of data for 330 Minnesota public school districts. It looked at compliance with federal standards for calories, nutrients and fats.

What has your school or district done to improve the nutritional value of school meals? Has it worked?

Dropout Factory Update

Oak Harbor High School has been removed from the now famous list of "Dropout Factories" generated by researchers at Johns Hopkins University. The national study compared the number of high school students entering with those graduating three years later.

Oak Harbor H.S. should not have been included in the original list according to the university. In a letter, Robert Balfanz, a Johns Hopkins University researcher, said:

"Oak Harbor High School does not currently meet the criteria for 'fitting the profile' of a dropout factory and should not be characterized as such."

According to a note in today's Everett Herald, students at Oak Harbor are not counted by year class, but rather, students advance based on credits and course grades earned.

Tuesday Tidbits - Nov. 20, 2007

In today's Tuesday Tidbits, we're cleaning out the inbox to make room for all those Thanksgiving leftovers we'll return to next week. Savor and enjoy!

• Recess, Then Lunch: At least three elementary schools in the Vancouver, Wash. area have flipped recess and lunch, allowing students to play first, eat second. The theory is that students have better appetites, make better meal choices, have fewer playground disputes and trips to the nurses office as a result. Read more on recess first here.
  
• What About Books?: Public school librarians are banding together to ensure school libraries don't go the way of chalkboards with a grassroots campaign. According to an article in The Seattle Times, budget cuts in the Spokane Public Schools reduced 10 librarians to half-time and other school libraries around the state are also looking for creative ways to bring students and staff back into the stacks. (Quick! Somebody call Nancy Pearl!)
• Customer Service: Here's a great customer service tip sheet for schools and district compiled by school PR leader Brian Woodland, APR, from Peel District School Board in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. Think twice before someone in your front office says, "that's our policy..."
• There's Two Os in Proof: A printing error has invalidated U.S. students' reading scores on the Program for International Student Assessment or PISA exam. The test in reading, science and mathematics is administered every three years to evaluate the progress of 15-year-olds around the world. Apparently, directions sending students "to the opposite page" were blurred during the printing process, and the printing company changed the order of the pages, which interrupted the question flow. As the Washington Post reported, questions about two essays about graffiti instructed students to look at the "opposite page" when the essays appeared on the previous page.

All-Day K Too Much, Too Soon?

Does universal preschool and all-day kindergarten really pay long-term benefits for the state's youngest citizens?

That's the question researchers at the conservative Washington Policy Center set out to answer in their recent review of research on universal preschool and all-day kindergarten. According to WPC scholar Liv Finne, research on the topic suggests there is a "dosage effect," meaning there's a limit to the amount of institutionalized care young children can handle without "suffering harm to their social and mental development."

Finne looked at studies conducted by other researchers at Berkeley and Stanford on the effects of children enrolled in "institutionalized care" for 15 to 30 hours, as well as research conducted by the RAND Corporation. All of the studies suggested that "too many hours in structured care tends to undermine a child’s natural curiosity and turn him or her against the entire school experience," Finne writes.

In Washington state, early learning has been the subject of increased policy debate, particularly in light of the report issued by Gov. Gregoire's Washington Learns. As Finne notes in conclusion:

Policymakers should avoid using a blanket universal preschool or all-day kindergarten programs to provide free childcare to middle and upper-income families, while neglecting the social and educational support that low-income families need most.

Providing training and skills to parents of at-risk children, to help them develop close, nurturing relationships with their children is a wiser policy. This approach is more beneficial to more children in the long run and is the most likely to prepare them for a lifetime of learning.

What do you think? Does all-day K make a difference in the lives of your students?

State of Education Address

State Superintendent Dr. Terry Bergeson delivered her annual "State of Education" address this morning at the Washington State School Directors' Association annual conference in Seattle. You can read the full text of the speech here. TVW will also replay the speech and stream it online.

Handling the Holidays

With Thanksgiving just around the corner --and seasonal advertisements bombarding us from everywhere -- we're officially in the grips of the holiday season. Throw in winter break disruptions and weather delays, and schools can lose focus quickly this time of year. This can either mean headaches or holiday cheer, depending on how it's handled.

Our question today is: How do you handle holiday issues at your school and still maintain cultural sensitivities about Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and other observances?

Creativity Matters

Eric Liu is onto something.

"We are in the midst of a failure of imagination in public schools," said Liu, the former speechwriter for President Clinton and current member of the State Board of Education.

On Oct. 30, Liu gathered together more than 150 teachers, principals, superintendents, business leaders, legislators and philanthropists for "Creativity Matters: Teaching Creativity/Transforming Education," a summit was designed to address the value of creativity in public education. As he noted in the day's opening remarks, "Play, discovery, exploration are at the very heart of what it means to be an educator." Unfortunately, Liu asserted, many schools are depleting the very areas that may inspire student learning at a time when there is so much pressure to improve.

The day long session, held at the Broadway Center for the Performing Arts in Tacoma, was an offshoot of Washington Learns, Gov. Gregoire's education task force. For the next 12 months, Liu and colleagues will wage a campaign to support an infusion of creativity in schools. AWSP's Gary Kipp is a member of the steering committee for the event and future initiatives. Said Liu of the effort:

"A lot of things can get outsourced to other places at a cheaper cost... but a state and people's capacity for creativity cannot. Creativity matters because it is at the heart of what we are as a community...Creativity is no some magic fairy dust that is sprinkled around to some and not others. It can be reduced down to a set of habits that can be taught in the way we teach, in the way we lead."

These five habits of mind are:

1. Observing intently - Creativity begins with observing intently and deeply noticing.
   
2. Taking risks - Reckoning with the possibility of failure.
   
3. Persisting - Developing the capacity for resilience
4. Recognizing patterns
5. Making connections
   

You can read the case Liu and others have made for creativity in schools here. Also, it's worth noting that Liu's group has partnered with the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. Until recently, only New York public schools have been eligible for the Center's Imagination Award for teaching practices that encourage imaginative thinking across the curriculum. As a result of this partnership, middle and high schools in Washington state will also be eligible for the award.

E-mail: When in Doubt, Don't!

There are many life lessons to be learned thanks to the speedy and global reach of the Internet.

Today's cautionary tale of woe comes to you from Catskill, New York, where the superintendent's choice of words in a hastily composed e-mail has landed her in a heap of trouble with her union, families, students and herself.

According to this morning's New York Times, the superintendent, Dr. Kathleen Farrell, was at odds with teachers over fire and safety codes that required classroom doors to be shut while students were in attendance. Without air conditioning, the rooms became stagnant, causing teachers to prop the doors open. According to the paper:

Back and forth the discussion went, until Oct. 3, when Dr. Farrell wrote an e-mail message to the district’s director of facilities, John Willabay. She vented a bit and then allowed: “Please go KILL these people....Please, please, please.”

Then she sent it — not just to him — but, accidentally, to an unknown number of others as well, including Terri Dubuke, a sixth-grade teacher who was one of the critics. Ms. Dubuke read it in shock and referred it to the teachers’ union, and the matter was discussed at a closed-door school board meeting on Oct. 17.

You can imagine the fallout that ensued: apologies were exchanged. Punishment was demanded. Remorse was rampant. But did the reaction fit the infraction?

Granted, an student e-mail with these same words may likely have garnered equal, if not greater attention. But in looking more carefully at the context of the message, it was clearly unprofessional and inappropriate. But was this issue blown out of proportion?

What Would You Do for Your Students?

Here's a great story about Olympic Elementary Principal Brett Ellingson, who was featured in the Centralia Chronicle. Ellingson honored a promise to his students and PTA: if they raised $10,000 to support extras at the school (field trips, etc.), he'd trade in his tie for a hoodie, jeans and tennis shoes and be a student for a day. The result was really a win-win. The school $11,500 in the two-week fund raising window, the paper reported. Ellingson also had a great day in the school classrooms, connecting with students and staff. (Better make that a win-win-win-win.)

This story got us thinking of another principal who made good on a promise. Last week, Lake Roosevelt High Principal Karl Miller surfaced at the AWSP Principals' Conference in Vancouver sporting a fresh mohawk, courtesy a school fundraising event. (It takes a brave person to wager a haircut with students!)

Gold stars to these two principals for keeping their word and being so committed to their students and schools.

This also got us wondering: what's the wackiest thing you've ever done to support a student fundraiser at your school?

Teens and Substance Abuse: A Snapshot

A new report published last week, "A Day in the Life of American Adolescents," details the self-reported habits of 12-17 year-olds in 2006. The report is the work of the Office of Applied Studies, which is part of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the federal Department of Health and Human Services.

On an average day in 2006, researchers found that:

• Nearly 1.2 million teenagers smoked cigarettes
  
• More than 630,000 drank
• Approximately 586,000 used marijuana

To put the numbers in perspective, the nationwide number of adolescents using cigarettes on an average day equals more students than are enrolled in Washington state's K-12 school system.

A short form of the report is also available here.

Finland, Finland, Finland...

A riddle for you this blustery fall afternoon.

Question: What's blue and white and the world leader in K-12 education instruction?

Answer: Finland!

Yes, the country of 5 million people and a heck of a lot more reindeer is apparently the world's leader in education. Forget Japan. Forget the U.S. According to Andrew Hargreaves, the Thomas Moore Brennan Chair in Education at Boston College, the focus should really be on the small northern European country of Finland.

On Monday, Hargreaves captivated attendees at the AWSP Principals' Conference in Vancouver with his research on this country and its relevance to instructional leadership. As Hargreaves noted in his research and presentation:

In less than half a century, Finland has transformed itself from a rural backwater into a high-tech economic powerhouse, through its educational system.

By the way, that Nokia phone in your hand has a direct role in the country's regeneration. Today, 40 percent of the country's GDP is accounted for by Nokia and its suppliers. What was once a rubber products company (making everything from timber to galoshes to electrical cables for telephony), the company has "flexed, adapted and changed" as markets shifted. As a result, Nokia is now ranked #1 in economic competitiveness, Hargreaves said, and its educational system is a key player in this success.

In Finland, Hargreaves noted, teachers are seen as creators of the next generation. There is a strong mission. As a result, the Finnish youth are number one in the world not by an emphasis on testing but on teaching. High quality teachers, coupled with a culture of cooperation, clear guidelines (with flexibility within those guidelines) and, interestingly, a reverence for the music and science, have made Finland the highest performing country in the world on the PISA (Programme for International Student Achievement). This triennial assessment of 15-year-olds is administered by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Hargreave's presentation was very compelling and entertaining (he does an excellent Tony Blair impression, too). But what does all of this mean for leadership? Hargreaves boiled it down to three things:

1. All leaders must have been teachers. In Finland, it's the law. You can't be a principal without having first been a teacher.
   
2. All principals still teach, even for just two hours a week.
   
3. The job of the principal in Finland is to "pull all of this together -- not pull everything through it." In other words, Hargreaves said, principal are not competing with one another but, rather, boosting each other up for the betterment of all, as they believe they are ethically responsible for each student's success.

Hargreaves gave attendees a wonderful presentation, rich with data, witty anecdotes and substantive knowledge about educational leadership and change.

Did you attend the conference and hear Hargreaves speak? What did you think? Or, perhaps you've read his books/research? What do you think?

(Bonus points to those of you who remember the Monty Python tribute to "the country where [I] want to be...")

Going to the Experts

This afternoon's mathematics panel with students from the Washougal School District was as entertaining as it was insightful. Fourteen students ranging from freshmen to seniors shared their thoughts about the teaching and learning of mathematics with pre-conference attendees.

As mentioned in an earlier blog, the discussion was moderated by Washougal Superintendent Teresa Baldwin. The students she gathered for this conversation exuded an enthusiasm for math. Although, one student acknowledged it was his love of science that led him to a deeper exploration of math ("since math is the language of science" he noted.) But they're also putting their talents to use outside the classroom by volunteering, participating in the Model United Nations or through music and dance.

Perhaps the most telling discussion point of the afternoon came when Baldwin asked the students how they would change math instruction. Here's a quick synopsis of some of their suggestions:

• Show students how classroom instruction applies in real life situations. ("Repetition gets really boring.")
• Help ensure students understand tested concepts by making them retake classroom assessments until they correctly answer all questions -- then let them proceed to the next chapter or section.
• Make sure your teachers are sending positive messages about mathematics in the classroom. What they say has an enormous impact on student attitudes about math. ("It's bad when teachers have negative attitudes about math -- it transfers to the students.")
• Don't abandon those multiplication time tables! The foundational skills are essential and should be emphasized in elementary school.
  
• Teachers need to be able to explain things in different ways and be patient with students who need additional support.

It's Conference Time

Starting today, hundreds of Washington state principals, assistant principals and interns will converge on downtown Vancouver for the Association's fall conference. This event is designed by and for the component levels; members from the elementary, middle and high school boards planned the program around the needs of each grade band.

Today, the boards will meet and in the afternoon, a pre-conference with a special emphasis on the teaching and learning of mathematics will kick-off. Leading this afternoon's session is Teresa Baldwin, superintendent of the neighboring Washougal School District. Baldwin has compiled a great group of high school students from around the area to talk about their views about math. Then participants will break up into their respective grade groupings and tackle challenges specific to elementary, middle and high schools. More on that in a future post.

Then, tomorrow morning, the conference will get rolling with our keynote speaker, education researcher Andrew Hargreaves. Hargreaves is the Thomas Moore Brennan Chair in Education at the Lynch School of Ed in Boston. You can read more about him on his Web page.

All in all, should be a great start to things today.

Tuesday Tidbits - Oct. 9, 2007

Here's today's Tuesday Tidbits in K-12 education with a decidedly tech theme:

• The Los Angeles Unified School District has launched a new campaign to lower dropout rates by using the Internet -- particularly sites like YouTube and MySpace. According to the state of California, one in four of the district's 200,000 high school students dropped out of school in 2006.
  
• In a related note, the Toppenish School District has also launched an online school program, also aimed at dropouts. According to the article in this morning's Yakima Herald-Republic, the program will offer a free online curriculum aligned to state standards and will include home visits and tutoring from state-certified teachers.
  
• Let's just keep the online theme going: Walla Walla Public Schools' online grade program is giving families one more way to connect with schools. The online service allows parents to log in and view middle and high school grades, including information about how students performed on specific assignments. Today's Union-Bulletin praises the tool in an editorial.
  

Could You Pass 8th Grade Science?

In the vein of "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth-Grader" comes the online quiz, "Could You Pass 8th Grade Science?"

Amazingly (to me and, probably, to my eighth-grade science teacher) I did pass this little quiz; see my badge of honor below. The questions cover a range of content from photosynthesis to physics. And you can review the answer sheet at the conclusion of the "exam."

What's most interesting is that this is not a science-related site, but rather an Internet dating service called Just Say Hi. Not sure what an online dating site and science quizzes have in common. They have several other online quizzes, too (How Addicted to Coffee Are You? and The Germ Quiz -- How Many Germs Are There On Your Keyboard may also be worth a click.)

A fun diversion, anyway, amidst the heightened focus on math and science these days.

More Snow Days Ahead?

Difficult as it may be to fathom snowy weather and cold temps on this crisp, golden day in September, the weather wizards are already speculating about this winter.

According to weather experts at the University of Washington, western Washington may receive more snowfall this winter due to the La Nina effect. This cooling of the Pacific Ocean means we'll have more rainfall and varying temps in the coming months, researchers said. These conditions can mean more snow.

Last year, a series of bad weather instances -- ranging from wind storms and flooding to ice and snow -- dragged out the school year for many schools on the western half of the state until the end of June.

Did the weather disruptions affect planning for this school year? Does your school plan to do anything different to handle inclement weather as a result of lessons learned last year?

A Place for My Stuff

Like slide rulers and chalkboards, the school locker is quickly becoming a relic of school days gone by. Safety concerns, noise issues, constantly forgotten combos and the occasional student prank may all have contributed to the decline of the metal storage closets in today's modern schools.

The problem is, students still have all that, well, stuff. (Turns out George Carlin was right.) And a backpack can only handle so much.

Case in point: At Seattle's newest high school, a $67 million redesign of Cleveland High did not include lockers. However, given the amount of sporting equipment, books and other supplies students must tote, the school is rethinking the lack of storage. According to an article in this week's Seattle Weekly, 500 new lockers will be brought in to help stem the tide of bad backs and lost items.

So, about all that stuff: Does your school still have lockers? Or if yours doesn't, how are you helping students manage their school stuff? Extra classroom storage? (Bigger backpacks?)

And, if you don't have lockers, has not having them cut down on related problems?

New Face in School Safety at OSPI

The state department of education announced today that Tyson Vogeler is the new program supervisor for school safety and security. Vogeler has previously worked in the Naselle and Elma school districts and, according to OSPI, has extensive experience in working with at-risk youth.

In his new role at OSPI, Vogeler will be working on a new grant to enhance school safety planning (including the Prepared Response school mapping project AWSP has been involved with) and a new school gang task force.

The End of No Child Left Behind?

Well, in name, at least.

Today's Washington Post reports that Congress is considering a new name for the now infamous No Child Left Behind Act:

One reason, said Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), a key sponsor of the original bill that transformed K-12 education in the country by ushering in an era of high-stakes standardized testing, is that "No Child" is inextricably linked to Bush. And Bush, he said, has become unpopular.

Furthermore, he said, people simply don't like the name.

"People find it an incredible insult [to suggest] that we are deliberately leaving children behind," he said.

Marian Wright Edelman, president of the nonprofit Children's Defense Fund, isn't a big fan of the name either. According to the Post, Edelman supports the change because it borrows from the CDF's own federally registered trademark, Leave No Child Behind.

Let's say Congress invited you to their focus group. What would you rename the act? And as an added bonus, they want you to name one major change you'd make to the law, on behalf of principals. What would you recommend?

One More [Post] for the Road

One last post for the week. The nonprofit Partnership for Learning has a newly redesigned Web site that is definitely worth clicking around.

AWSP has worked with the Partnership, or "PFL", for many years now on campaigns to inform principals, teachers, parents, students, lawmakers, the media and the general public about changes in the state's education system and the ongoing improvements in student achievement. Be sure to take a tour of their new site, which includes their new public service announcements about why math matters -- part of their college and work readiness campaign.

You can find PFL online at http://partnership4learning.org.

Caution: Light Blogging Ahead

AWSP will be in "The Palm Springs of Washington" (Yakima) Thursday and Friday of this week for fall board meetings. These are always great venues for new blog post ideas, but probably not until next week.

Educational CEOs

Like fathers, blondes and next-door neighbors, principals have acquired a certain stereotyped status in movies and on TV. The mischaracterizations usually fall toward the inept (think Principal Skinner on The Simpsons) or the controlling (a la Ed Rooney in Ferris Bueller's Day Off). The reality is, few people know or understand what principals really do.

That's what makes this NPR piece noteworthy. Reporter Larry Abramson highlights some of the challenges facing today's "educational CEOs" hitting on the increasing number of retirements and mounting pressure to raise student achievement. It's a short story, but it's a refreshing take on the reality of the principal's office.

How would you characterize your role as a school administrator? Are you an educational CEO? Or are you an instructional leader? Both? Something in between?

Edublogs

Naturally, we here at The Comp Book were disappointed that Edutopia overlooked our little contribution to the blogosphere. However, you can't really knock any of their suggestions for Edublogs [They] Love: Ten Top Stops for Internet Interaction.

Are there any education blogs you read regularly that you would like to have seen on this list? Let us know! (You can post a comment to Edutopia's site if you beg to differ with their list, too.)

ZIP Codes and Healthy Communities (Yes, That Includes Schools)

For years, income has been used to predict test scores and student achievement. Now comes a new study that may throw another factor into the mix: property values.

In an article published in today's Seattle P-I, researchers at the U.W. have identified disparities in obesity rates based on ZIP codes. Property values, the researchers concluded, are a strong predictor of obesity. Each additional $100,000 in median home value for a ZIP code corresponded with a drop in obesity of 2 percentage points, the story noted.

In looking at the map that ran with today's story, it's tempting to wonder how student achievement might factor into this analysis of health and healthy habits? Would we find high achievement in communities at greater risk for obesity?

It's worth a look, particularly in light of SB 5093, the newly created Comprehensive School Health Task Force. This new commission was created in the last legislative session to The task force is currently seeking input from the school community on the following two questions:

• What is the most critical area of school health that should be addressed by the task force?
  
• What are examples of model programs or policies that could be expanded through legislative action?

In discussions at AWSP, staff concluded the task force should examine schools as a community resource and review existing programs for possible enhancement. Many schools serve meals year-round. How healthy are those meals? And could other services -- medical, dental and mental health resources -- also be offered at the school to build a stronger community? Take a look at the Parent Information and Resource Center grant just implemented by the folks at Blue Ridge Elementary in Walla Walla. What could this sort of thing do for other schools?

Better yet, what could it do for this map? What do you think?

Tuesday Tidbits - Sept. 11, 2007

In today's Tuesday Tidbits:

• OMG! Check out this USA Today article, confirming what many adults have suspected (and might also be a tad guilty of - LOL!): texting is affecting student writing habits.
  
• Testify: AWSP President Charlene Milota (assistant principal, Salk Middle, Spokane P.S.) joined four other ed association presidents Monday to testify before the Task Force on Basic Education Finance. Milota underscored the need for a new system that was both equitable and flexible for public schools in Washington state. She was joined by reps from the Washington State School Directors' Association, Washington Education Association, Washington Association of School Administrators and the Public School Employees of Washington.
  
• It's almost as bad as texting: The K-12 world is being taken to task for its abbreviations, which create verbal barriers for non-educator types (i.e., parents). While every industry has its own lingo, education seems to be brimming with these alphabet soup nicknames. NCLB, AYP, WASL, FERPA, NERCs, ESL, ELL -- let me count the ways...
  

Noblis Award at Rogers High

Day two of my first week of school photo outings.

Today, AWSP Executive Director Gary Kipp and I had the pleasure of visiting John R. Rogers High in Puyallup, where Principal Scott Brittain and his school played host to a national awards ceremony. This event was the first of two media events taking place today to honor Washington state as the winner of the 2007 Noblis Innovative Award for Homeland Security. You can read the full press release here about the award, which recognizes our state's efforts in the school mapping technology. (AWSP has been the link to schools in the mapping process.) In addition to hosting Gov. Gregoire, Supt. Bergeson and several current and former legislators, there were a host of first responder officials (fire, police, sheriff's office and Washington State Patrol) on hand to celebrate.

The event began with a Q&A session with the governor in the school library. Unfortunately, events like these are on ultra-tight timelines, and in reality, there was barely time for one question. But two were asked, and each was posed by a principal in the Puyallup School District: Zeiger Elementary Principal Marc Brouillet and Ferrucci Junior High Principal Aileen Baxter. Their questions focused on the need for improved funding of school safety and mental health detection for students.

The second and more festive portion of the event was a pep assembly, wherein 1,800 students, plus staff and all of the invited guests gathered for the presentation of the award. It was hot and it was crowded, but all in all, it was a nice event. There is nothing like a high school assembly to get you energized for the day! Principal Brittain did a wonderful job of setting the tone, and I was impressed by how attentive the students were, despite having to sit for a very long time (a third of them on the floor -- sorry, sophomores) listening to adults.

I mentioned that Rogers is a school of about 1,800 students; five junior highs filter into this high school. So managing the campus has got to be a huge job. Fortunately, the culture they've developed at Rogers goes a long way toward ensuring a safe and friendly atmosphere, something you noticed right away when you first walk on campus.

When we arrived today, were met and escorted by a handful of juniors and seniors, known as the Rodgers High “Rambassadors” (complete with spiffy embroidered blue polo shirts and khaki pants). Now, today was a special day, so you would expect a little extra polish on things. Except these students are a part of the every day routine of the school, serving as tour guides and backup help at school events . Having them there underscored the welcoming nature of the school and the tone they are striving to hit with all who work and visit there. And that sense of welcoming and security, coupled with the award-winning school mapping technology, is what really helps everyone feel safe, and connected, at school.

All in all, another great day!

Back in the Saddle Again

Today marks the first day of school for many districts in western Washington. I was privileged enough to spend today's "first day" touring four schools in the Highline School District, meeting our members and getting a feel for today's schools. I was not disappointed!

The first school I visited has actually turned into three. The district has moved to an academy model, first at Tyee High and now at Evergreen High, where I met Eric Hong, principal of the Technology, Engineering and Communications School and Vic Anderson, principal of the Arts and Academic Academy. Both were gracious enough to let me shadow them for the morning as they visited classrooms and interacted with students. As Eric pointed out, having 350 students will allow him more time to get to know each student better this year. Each of the three academies at the Evergreen High campus will eventually have about 400 students.

My second visit was to the beautiful new Hazel Valley Elementary. This brand new school is incredibly inviting and the students there all seemed to be settling into the new year well. There I met new principal Johnathan Letcher, who was busy making the rounds to classrooms. (On his suit coat, he wore a name tag with "PRINCIPAL" in large red letters.) In this photo, he's asking first-graders why they are at school. The answer: "TO LEARN!" they responded enthusiastically.

My third visit was to one of my own alma maters, Sylvester Middle School. Principal Vicki Fisher gave me a quick tour of the main building, which boasts a hallway that is a half-mile long. With 800+ students, it's probably a good thing, too. This is Vicki's second year at Sylvester, having spent her previous administrative time at the elementary level. Vicki also help me navigate the day's first lunch crowd, which was really fun to watch.

In each of these schools, there was an enthusiasm you just can't replicate sitting at the desk. The first day of school is something to be experienced, and I appreciate the opportunity to share today with these members, their staff and students. Let's hope the energy of the first day carries into the rest of the school year for everyone!

How did the first day go in your school?

SIDE NOTE: Today The Comp Book hits the century mark! This post is our 100th post since starting this blog last spring, and the first of what we hope are 100s more to come.

Tuesday Tidbits - Sept. 4

Today is Tuesday, so technically it's time for another installment of Tuesday Tidbits. However, given the long holiday weekend, it really feels like a Monday. (But we digress...)

Here's a round-up of some of the smaller, but still noteworthy, tidbits making news today about K-12 education:

• SETTLED: Everett Public Schools announced late last week that it had settled a lawsuit with two former student editors at Everett High. In fall 2005, the students objected to the principal's request to review the paper, The Kodak, which they believed was a public forum -- and thus not subject to review. This incident was one of several that inspired legislation this past session to remove principal oversight of student publications; the bill died but may be resurrected in the Legislature in 2008. You can read the district's press release here and the Everett Herald piece on it here. Who won in the settlement? You be the judge. Bottom line for AWSP: More must be done to help administrators, students and journalism advisers understand their respective roles in student press issues.
  
• ON HOLD: The issue of cell phones in schools continues to vex administrators. Today's Seattle Times takes a look at the struggle administrators and teachers find themselves in, balancing instructional needs with safety concerns and the distraction factor.
  
• DEBATABLE: How should teachers be graded? That's the debate shaping up in Congress right now, given the reauthorization of NCLB. As of last winter, 17 percent of U.S. school districts did not expect to meet the June 2007 deadline for highly qualified teachers, according to this story in today's Christian Science Monitor.

As always, your thoughts on any of the above are welcome!

WASL: Drinking from the Fire Hose

Today's WASL score release by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction further underscores the incredible amount of testing data available. "Like drinking from a fire hose," quipped KING 5's Glenn Farley, reporting at noon on today's announcement. His analogy is not far from the truth.

In the wake of NCLB, the good news is, you have more data. The bad news is...you have more data.

So what do you do with it all? That's the question newsrooms around the state are grappling with right now. How do you tell a numbers story when you (1) can't see the test or (2) the test results and (3) school, in some areas, has not started? This is perhaps where principals can be a good resource for their local media -- and share some good news about what's working in schools. Conversely, this is also a time when some principals will also have to be honest about what isn't working. Still, it's another opportunity to get your message across -- even just to your staff, students and families, about your instructional priorities for the year.

How have you communicated the results of WASL scores in your school? What do you do with your staff to distill all of the WASL information? How are you using it to improve classroom instruction?

Washington's SAT Scores

An update on yesterday's post about the slight decline in SAT scores nationally (down one point in reading to 502; three in writing to 494 and to 515 in math).

According to a story in today's Seattle P-I, Washington state students who took the college entrance exam only saw their collective scores drop two points by comparison. In our state, the average scores were 526 in reading, 510 in writing and 531 in math. A detailed, state-by-state report is also available online, which allows a more in-depth look at the data for the 34,638 students who sat for the SAT. For example:

• In math, boys still outscore the girls, this time by 34 points (provided my math is correct).
• There were 31 freshmen who took the test and 493 seniors
• 67 percent of our state's testers were white; 13 percent were Asian, Asian American or Pacific Islander. Four percent were Black or African American. Three percent identified themselves as Mexican or Mexican American and 2 percent said they were Hispanic, Latino or Latin American.
• 44 percent took the PSAT as a junior and 29 percent never took the PSAT at all.
• The mean grade point average for the test-takers: 3.41.

There's a great breakdown of coursework by gender and SAT grade that's worth a closer look. Fifty-eight percent of test-takers reported taking four years of mathematics (44 percent of boys and 58 percent of girls). There's data for English, natural sciences, social sciences and history, too.

Tuesday Tidbits - Aug. 28

Each Tuesday, AWSP will try to capture some of the smaller, but still noteworthy, items making news in the K-12 world. Here's today's tidbits:

• The College Board today announced the scores for the class of 2007, the largest and most diverse class of SAT takers on record. Nearly 1.5 million students in the class of 2007 took the test and students of color comprised nearly four out of 10 test-takers. As for the scores:
  
• The average score in reading (502) declined one point from last year.
  
• The average score in mathematics and writing declined by three points each, as well, bringing the average scores to 515 and 494 respectively.
  
• Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup releases its 39th annual poll of the public's attitudes toward public schools today. You can read the full report here, which offers seven implications and lessons for leaders (politicians and educators alike). Among the highlights:
  
• For the first time since they started asking the question in 2003, 54 percent of respondents say they know "a great deal or a fair amount" about NCLB.
• Is this gain in knowledge affecting people's perceptions of schools? PDK/Gallup found that as public knowledge of NCLB grows, the public's view of NCLB is becoming less favorable.
• A new study released this week by the University of Washington's Harborview Medical Center suggests that a nationwide push to install automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in schools may not be worth the cost. The study, which was published Monday in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, suggests putting AEDs in high schools or pinpointing schools where students and staff have medical problems. According to the AP story in today's Seattle Times:

  The survey of emergency response to schools in the Seattle area over 16 years found that students suffered cardiac arrests only 12 times and a third of these children had known heart problems.
  
  Most of the cardiac arrests at schools between 1990 to 2005 involved adults — teachers, volunteers or people just walking on school property. And they occurred much more often in high schools and middle schools than elementary schools.

La Cima Leadership Camp - VIDEO!

At today's AWSP quarterly staff meeting, Student Leadership Director Susan Fortin gave a recap of the summer programs. Summer is her super busy time of the year, so it's always fun to hear how things went, especially at some of our newer events like Mascot CheerLeadership Camp and Bilingual Leadership Camp.

The La Cima Bilingual Leadership Camp is one of the newer programs (this is the second year). It's aimed at developing the leadership skills of Latino students. With each year, the camp gets a little better and grows a little more in attendance. About 50 middle and high school students attended the camp this year at Chewelah Peak Learning Center, located about an hour north of Spokane.

As often happens with leadership camps, the people who are there and experience the fun return home full of fun stories and enthusiasm. But unless you were there, it's a little hard to sympathize or share in that fun. That's why video has become such a powerful medium.

Fortunately for AWSP, one of our Leadership Camp alumni is a filmmaker. Brad McLaughlin took some time to go up to the camp this summer and has pulled together some initial video. Unfinished or not, you can really see how much fun these students had at camp!

Putting Some English on School Improvement.

Let's say you're the principal of a very successful elementary school. Staff is great. Kids are doing well. Things are generally great. Would you increase your current workload to help a similar, though less well-performing school? Leave your building for a part of each week? And take your assistant principal with you, too? (Note: there is a stipend for the effort.)

If you have a moment, fish the Aug. 1 issue of Education Week out of your reading pile. It's worth taking a glance at page 8 and their focus on world learning. Accessing the article online requires a free registration-- or use of your existing one -- but Lynn Olson's article ("In England, Top 'Heads' Oversee Two Schools at Once") gives another perspective on how principals in some successful schools in England are helping their colleagues (and the students) in struggling schools through a privately funded initiative. It's particularly intriguing in light of our own school improvement efforts at AWSP and in Washington state.

Here's the gist of it: High-performing head teachers -- the equivalent of American principals -- are paired with low-performing schools with similar characteristics. It's part of an initiative in England known as National Leaders in Education (NLE) /National Support Schools (NSS), operated by the National College for School Leadership, a private entity that reads more like a corporation than a traditional institution of higher education. You can read their goals and corporate plan online.

The scope of work apparently varies from school to school depending on the nature of the contract between the "NLEs", their school and the local school district.The program started in 2006 with 68 schools and a second cadre of 59 schools has been added. NLEs in the first cohort were paid approximately $10,000 for their work.

Lawrence Montagu, the head teacher at St. Peter's High School and Sixth Form in Gloucester, is one of the NLEs mentioned in the story. His perspective largely tracks with AWSP's own role in the state's school improvement efforts:

"You take into the school a vision of what's made your school successful," he said, "but do not tell them that's the way to do it. I think to transport one school to another is a recipe for disaster."

Take a read and let us know what you think. Should we broaden our efforts in Washington state and incorporate more of the NCSL program into ours? As a principal of a low-performing school, would you welcome this sort of help? As the principal of a high-performing school, ould you do this if you could?

Read any good books lately?

According to a new Associated Press-Ipsos poll, only one in four Americans has in the last year.

Or, put another way, three in four Americans have NOT read a single book in the last year.

Given everything on their "to do" lists, most principals will not find this terribly shocking. In an age of media overload, reading a book has become a rare treat for people already swimming in e-mail, snail mail, soccer practice, extended family obligations and everything else in between. And per the poll, the fact that you're reading this means you're contributing to the malaise:

Analysts attribute the listlessness to competition from the Internet and other media, the unsteady economy and a well-established industry with limited opportunities for expansion.

So who's included in that 27 percent who haven't read a book? Deeper analysis by the pollsters said a third of men and a third of women count in that category. They tend to be older, less educated, have lower incomes, minorities, from rural areas and are less religious. But take heart: people in the West and Midwest are more than likely to have read a book in the past year. And "many in the survey reported reading dozens of books and said they couldn't do without them."

At AWSP, we're doing our part to help the curve. We know several principals have read books this past year, because they're participating in our book reviews for The Principal News magazine. For the past two years, our business partner, University Book Store, has generously donated several books for our members to read (and keep) and review in each issue. This fall's titles include The World is Flat, The Freedom Writers Diary and A Whole New Mind: Moving from the Informational Age to the Conceptual Age.

So, have you read any good books this past year? Or are you sympathizing with the polling data? And what message, if any, does this send to students?

Tuesday Tidbits

Each Tuesday, AWSP will try to capture some of the smaller, but still noteworthy, items making news in the K-12 world.

Today's Tuesday Tidbits include:

• The Professional Educator Standards Board will meet in Yakima on Wednesday, Sept. 12. Included in their agenda will be a 30-minute panel discussion on "the effects of collective bargaining agreements and local hiring practices on teacher assignment." Panelists include AWSP's own executive director, Gary Kipp, along with Jim Meadows of the WEA; Kevin Chase, superintendent, Grandview School District; and Missy Hallead, executive director of human resources, Vancouver School District. This meeting is open to the public.
  
• OSPI will host a K-20 today from 2 - 4 p.m. on communicating the AYP and WASL results this fall. Space is limited so be sure to call the site ahead of time. More information is on the AWSP Web site.
• Don't forget to vote! Today is primary election day in Washington state. Ballots must be postmarked by today, Aug. 21, 2007. Secretary of State Sam Reed's office has created these great e-mail reminders and MySpace vote reminders to spread the word among social media users (and perhaps a younger demographic of voters). According to Reed's press release, only 34 percent of eligible voters will cast ballots in this election.
  

College Rankings

Although the K-12 world often shies away from school comparisons, it's hard to not at least peek at U.S News and World Report's rankings of "America's best colleges."

Oh, there are a lot of familiar names amid the top 25 -- Princeton garnered the number one ranking followed by Harvard and Yale (sure to incite some Ivy smackdowns). In terms of Washington's schools, the University of Washington came in tied for 11th among public universities and 42nd among all universities in the country. Washington State University also made the overall list, tied for 118th with Samford University (AL) and University at Buffalo (SUNY). Peruse the full list for yourself and let the office/home bragging rights begin.

The list our state should be particularly proud of, though, is the magazine's ranking of the top schools for master's degree programs. That's where Washington really shines, with whopping 11 of the 55 spots (58 if you include the ties). Here's how that list shook out:

• Gonzaga (3rd)
• Seattle U. (6th)
• Whitworth (9th)
• Pacific Lutheran University (13th)
• Seattle Pacific University (14th)
• Western Washington University (17th)
• The Evergreen State College (27th)
• Walla Walla University (nee College) (29th)
  
• Central Washington University (43rd)
  
• Eastern Washington University (44th)
  
• Saint Martin's University (tied with three others at 58th)
  

With this announcement coming out today, the magazine's Web site is about as slow as I-5 between Spokane St. and I-90. Needless to say, there's lots of fodder for office water coolers everywhere.