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Articles of Interest
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State & Local Policy
Low morale causes rise in number of teachers leaving field
The Virginian-Pilot
June 29, 2015
Stefanie Hicks would have been in line for a roughly $7,000 raise next school year.
But the King's Fork High School Spanish teacher decided it wasn't worth it. She is leaving the profession, unsure what her next job will be.
"I don't have the energy to endure the daily and ongoing disrespect that is placed on teachers," she said. "And seeing the lack of support from administration."
Hicks is far from alone. A U.S. Education Department survey released late last year found that almost 260,000 teachers who worked in public schools in 2011-12 left the profession by the next year.
That number was double a total from the early 1990s and represented a jump to 7.7 percent of all teachers in the most recent period, from 5.1 percent in 1991-92. The attrition rate peaked at more than 8 percent a decade ago, when a booming economy gave teachers more options.
Virginia Homeschool Privacy Bill Becomes Law Without Governor’s Signature
Heartlander
June 26, 2015
Homeschoolers in Virginia are pleased a widely supported privacy measure designed to prevent the sharing of personal information passed with bipartisan support.
Senate Bill 1383, sponsored by state Sen. Dick Black (R-Loudoun), passed the Virginia state legislature in late winter, but awaited a final signature by the governor. Rather than endorse or veto SB 1383, Gov. Terri McAuliffe (D) remained neutral, allowing the bill to pass into law unsigned.
The new law “prohibits a division superintendent or local school board from disclosing any information from a Notice of Intent form or religious exemption letter to the Department of Education or other person or entity,” according to Home Educators Association of Virginia (HEAV).
Federal Policy
Education Leaders: Restore ‘Local Leadership and Flexibility’ to Child Nutrition Programs
House Education and the Workforce Committee
June 24, 2015
The Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education, chaired by Rep. Todd Rokita (R-IN), today held the latest in a series of hearings on federal child nutrition programs. The hearing provided members an opportunity to learn from state and local education leaders about how federal regulations are affecting school lunch and breakfast programs across the country. Members and witnesses discussed the compliance costs associated with existing policies, the burdens placed on schools, and opportunities to improve these programs.
“We all know the important role healthy food plays in a child’s education. We cannot expect children to learn or excel in the classroom if they are hungry or are not properly nourished,” said Chairman Rokita. “The question we want to answer today is: are federal policies giving you the tools and flexibility you need to succeed in implementing child nutrition programs so that your students can succeed in the classroom?”
Chicago Tribune
June 22, 2015
Chicago Public Schools officials are set to authorize $200 million of new borrowing to manage a cash crunch through the end of June while also taking out a separate line of credit to borrow nearly a billion dollars to get through the coming fiscal year.
Those measures, set for a vote Wednesday by the Chicago Board of Education, represent short-term fixes that officials acknowledge won't solve the district's ongoing financial crisis.
City, school and Chicago Teachers Union officials have looked to Springfield for a permanent fix that would address the weight of the district's pension obligations. CPS' biggest imminent expense is a bill of more than $600 million for teacher pensions due at the end of the month.
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Does the public see much difference between 2 and 4 year colleges?
This week we share a shortened Compass Point focused on two recent news items from the education world. First, in the same week that President Obama decided not to pursue a federal ranking of the quality of higher educational institutions, Gallup released a poll examining national perceptions of quality of four year, community colleges and internet-based college programs. Second, Ohio lawmakers approved a takeover plan for Youngstown city schools, a legislative initiative that was introduced, debated and passed in 24 hours. Both of these issues are ones we've taken a look at through our own Commonwealth Education Poll, so below we revisit the results of both the college quality question (comparing the Gallup findings to our own) and the school takeover question.
Also, next week, in honor of the 4th of July holiday and the vacations of two of our staffers, Compass Point will take a break. We'll return to your inbox on July 15th. In the meantime, you may enjoy this piece from Slate that answers the question "Why do we celebrate Independence Day with fireworks?" And if you hadn't heard, Virginia was recently ranked "Most Patriotic" based on an analysis by WalletHub - in addition to having a lot of active-duty military personnel and veterans, Virginia earned points by having the top ranked civics education requirement.
Sincerely,
CEPI
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Poll Snapshot: Quality of four-year colleges vs. community college.
Gallup released a poll last week showing that Americans generally consider the quality of community colleges to be on par with four-year colleges. A smaller percentage thought the same about internet-based college programs.
Our own poll of Virginians in January showed fairly similar perceptions, though Virginians had somewhat higher opinions of the quality of eductional options accross the board. Four year colleges and universities were judged to provide good or excellent quality by 80% of respondents; community colleges by 78% and internet-based programs by 43%.
(To read the full results of the poll, visit our website. Question 21 is cited above - topline results are on page 30 of the 2015 poll with demographic breakouts on page 64-66.)
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School accountability efforts often focus on finding a measure of each schools' success. But once identifcation of challenge or "failing" schools is made, officials may be faced with a second question - what to do if identified schools are unable to improve performance consistently? One policy attempted has been to have the state takeover local school districts - an option that was ruled unconstitutional here in Virginia because responsibility for schools is explicitly given to local school boards.
Other states face different legal parameters and the action by state legislators in Ohio paves the way for the potential takeover of Youngstown city schools. According to the Columbus Dispatch:
"As Democrats cried foul about a process that saw major education policy proposed and passed in less than 24 hours, the Republican-controlled Senate and House made quick work of policy that would set up a new academic distress commission to take over the Youngstown district.
Under the bill, Gov. John Kasich’s state superintendent would appoint three of the five members of the new distress commission. That commission would then pick a CEO to have full reign of running the district, including replacing administrators, setting class sizes, altering contracts and setting compensation."
Legislators in Virginia also passed similar legislation before legal opinions by the Attorney General put the implementation of a state "district" on the shelf. However, the idea of failing schools being taken over by some other entity remains unpopular in the commonwealth - 57% of respondents opposed the idea with opposition running as high as 78% in the West portion of the state. Opinion was more evenly divided in South Central and Northern Virginia.
To read the full results of the poll, visit our website. Question 9 is cited above. Topline results are found on page 27 and demographic breakouts on page 47.
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