Blogging with a Tennessee Twang

Just a reminder that I'll be packing up the ol' kit blog and heading for Nashville later this week to capture the good times and great speakers at the 87th NAESP Convention. In addition to blogging about the convention, I'll be doing some writing for the NAESP office, covering the following sessions for their online convention newsletter:

• April 4: Dr. Jack Singer - Known as the "Patch Adams of Psychology," Dr. Singer is recognized among the world's leaders in promoting fun, humor and laughter as the most powerful antidotes to stress and illness.
• April 4: Diane Hodges - Hodges is one of the foremost authorities on staff morale, staff dynamics, development and training.
  
• April 7: Jane A.G. Kise - Kise is an educational consultant specializing in teambuilding, coaching and school staff development.
  

I also hope to post some pics of Washington state principals and assistant principals who will be attending this year's event. So if you're going, get ready to say "Cracker Barrel!"

You can check out all the convention offerings here. Stay tuned for more later this week!

More On Math

When we last left off, we were recapping the news about the demise of the math WASL and the status of mathematics testing under the new legislation signed by Gov. Gregoire. On Friday, OSPI issued a statement to clarify the specific requirements. It's worth sharing with staff at all grade levels and might be something worth linking to on your school's blog, Web site or in a school newsletter.

Math Hokey Pokey

You put the math WASL in, you take the math WASL out...

This week, Gov. Gregoire approved a plan that would phase out use of the math WASL and eliminate it as a graduation requirement. But don't let your students think they're off the hook entirely. Here's how things will work:

• The changes announced this week will NOT apply to this year's seniors.
  
• Students in grades 3-8 will still sit for the WASL in mathematics, as required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
• The graduating class of 2013 (this year's seventh-graders) will have the option of taking an passing either the math WASL or individual end-of-course (EOC - yes, a new acronym) exams. In 2014, the math WASL will be no more and only end-of-course exams in subjects like algebra and geometry will be used.
• $3.2 million was allocated this session for development of the EOCs.
  
• High school students will still be required to take and pass the reading and writing WASLs, in addition to completing a high school and beyond plan, culminating project and any credits required by the district to graduate.
  

This week's bill signing marks yet another change schools must communicate about graduation and testing requirements to teachers, students, families and the community.

What do you think about the decision? Will end-of-course exams work better than the WASL for assessing students skills in areas like algebra and geometry? Do you think we will see different test results?

How are you sharing the changes with your key audiences at school?

Save the D-A-T-E!

It's spring, and that can only mean one thing: It's [Spelling] Bee Season!

Middle and elementary schools all over the country are buzzing with spelling champ wannabees, hoping to make their way to the big Scripps National Spelling Bee May 29 and 30. According to the official Web site:

The Louisville Courier-Journal started the event with nine contestants in 1925. In 1941 Scripps assumed sponsorship of the program. There was no Scripps National Spelling Bee during the World War II years of 1943, 1944, and 1945. Co-champions were declared in 1950, 1957, and 1962. Of the 83 champions, 43 have been girls and 40 have been boys.

You can view the complete list of previous champs and their winning words online. The Scripps program has a great Web site with links to several great resources, whether you're competing in The Bee or just need a handy online reference guide for your daily correspondence. (I'd better hit spell check on that last one...)

Technology: Fight It or Learn It?

Do you have a MySpace page?

Not for networking, but for keeping up with technology -- for staying connected to how students are communicating? (Or, just keeping tabs on your own child?)

That's the issue raised today at a meeting of statewide education association communication professionals. The group meets to discuss ongoing projects in our respective organizations, cross-market events and help each other solve communications and PR challenges. The subject of new media came up-- in particular the connection between bullying and the use of sites like Juicy Campus, where people can post anything about anyone anonymously. Use of the site has already caused a flare up in the Marysville School District, which has blocked access to Juicy Campus, though most posts occur outside of school hours via non-school resources.

For many educators, just keeping up with e-mail is a chore. But in order to better understand today's students, should professional development for administrators and teachers include regular updates on technology?

Should educators know about Twitter and MySpace and Juicy Campus in order to address issues that arise from these newfangled version of old school graffiti? Or, should more attention be placed on school culture, to prevent the bullying and harassment these tools seem to encourage?

Licensed to Teach - At Home?

Naturally, any time the subject of education appears in the media, it has our attention. So when the teaser for the CBS Evening News declared Saturday that you now need a teaching certificate to homeschool your child in California, we tuned in.

Last month, the Second District Court of Appeal in California was asked to weigh in on a case that would require the parents of eight children to send them to a regular public or private school, where their welfare could be monitored. A lower court had ruled that the parents had a constitutional right to home school their children. The appellate court found no such right existed, and further, that because the parents did not have teaching certificates, they could not educate their children.

As with all legal issues, this one will take some time to sort out and has raised educational and parental rights issues.

You can read the ruling here. You can also read Gov. Schwarzenegger's statement on this issue here.

More Pi!

Another fun site: http://www.piacrossamerica.org/

Go Ahead! Drop Out!

Go on! Go!

That's the advice coming from Michael Goldstein, founder of the MATCH Charter Public High School in Boston, to students lacking an interest in their formal education.

His hypothesis, as outlined in a recent e-mail to Washington Post education columnist Jay Matthews is as follows:

"I've got a nutty idea. When half the kids in most U.S. cities essentially reject the basic product called 'school' -- many would leave a lot EARLIER if they were allowed by parents and the law -- then the best path forward is not ONLY different schools (with caring, discipline, and rigor), but also offering a different product entirely.

"Here's the different 'product': What if a 16-year-old could drop out but bank the money that the school district spends per pupil ($15,000 here in Boston, but I'm sure it's more in D.C.), the amount that otherwise would have been spent junior and senior year, like a medical savings account or an IRA? Then it can't be touched for at least two years -- force-feed kids the feeling of the dead-end life they're embarking on.

By Goldstein's estimation, most of the kids who might drop out under his scenario would enjoy their newfound freedom...temporarily, then realize that being in the real world with no job, no marketable skills or a formal education isn't such a good idea. Meanwhile, the campaign to get them back in school would continue:

"The dropout would get a statement every quarter in the mail, like a mutual fund, which shows the $30,000 (plus interest) or whatever available for their education. In each statement, there would be an easy-to-read story about an inner-city kid who'd used the education funds to turn things around. Constant reminder.

Schools could bank savings by hiring fewer teachers. Teachers would "like their jobs more" according to Goldstein, not having the added social work duties that sometimes come with potential dropouts.

It's a pretty dire view, but is there a degree of truth to what Goldstein's saying? You can read the entire exchange in Matthew's column here. Check out this great post about it on The Core Knowledge Blog.

Save Your Fork, There's Pi!

Today is a high holy day for math enthusiasts, and with Washington state's new math standards nearly put to bed, we couldn't pass up this opportunity to celebrate. Plus, who doesn't love pi(e)?

March 14 has become the high holy day for math enthusiasts. Represented numerically, March 14 is 3.14 -- the same as the symbol for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, represented by the Greek letter Pi. And no, we are not making this up. (Someone already beat us to the punch on that one.)

Are your math classes doing anything to commemorate today's big day?

Threat Down: Credits vs. WASL

It's WASL testing week for Washington state's high school sophomores and any juniors or seniors (especially seniors) that want to retake or need to take the reading and writing tests to graduate. With this year's seniors bearing the title of the first to graduate under the state's new graduation requirements, there's a lot of focus on passing the WASL. But what about passing P.E.? Or Spanish?

That's the focus of today's article in The Seattle Times, which looks at several districts north of Seattle where credit deficiencies threaten graduation plans -- not the WASL. In Marysville, the district reports there are about 10 times as many students that are not on track to graduate due to credits rather than WASL scores.

"It's not these other factors that are impeding students from graduating — it's the low credits," [Ray Houser, Marysville executive director of teaching and learning] said.

"We realize that it's not necessarily the assessment or the state requirements, but the inability to successfully navigate the classes," he said.

High school principals: Is this something you're seeing in your own schools?