Compass Point
A Weekly Collection of Data, Articles and Insights from the Commonwealth Educational Policy Institute
A project of the Virginia Commonwealth University's Center for Public Policy
L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs
Articles of Interest
State & Local Policy

VCU study finds students are eating fruits and veggies in school lunches, contradicting criticism
VCU Across the Spectrum
May 21, 2015

Under new federal school lunch regulations championed by Michelle Obama, school cafeterias across the country must now offer more whole grains, vegetables, and fruits, and less fat and sodium. But the new guidelines also sparked widespread criticism that children hated the healthier lunches and were choosing to simply toss out the fruits and vegetables.

As it turns out, that is likely not the case. A forthcoming study led by Suzanne Mazzeo, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Psychology in the College of Humanities and Sciences at Virginia Commonwealth University, found that the majority of school children are choosing to eat the school lunches’ fruits and vegetables.

“Most kids are eating the fruits and vegetables is the bottom line,” said Mazzeo, a leading expert in healthy eating and exercise, particularly for children and families.

The study, which was conducted at two Title I elementary schools in Chesterfield County, is funded by a two-year $100,000 grant by the National Institutes of Health. The study’s results are among the first empirical evidence to show that the overhaul of the National School Lunch Program is working and that school children are actually eating the healthier school lunches.

Henrico finds teacher turnover rate beats state average
Richmond Times-Dispatch
May 24, 2015

When Henrico County school officials couldn’t produce numbers tracking teacher turnover in the district, they weren’t so much sweeping something under the carpet as hiding their light under a bushel, it turns out.

During the last day of Patrick J. Russo’s tenure as superintendent, school officials said they couldn’t produce any numbers on the topic and didn’t track the statistic.

That was despite the fact that the school district’s strategic plan made retaining quality personnel a key objective and indicated advisers would be posted to schools with “patterns of high teacher turnover.”
But they’ve since developed the ability to find the statistic, and their numbers show Henrico performs far better than the state average.
 

Federal Policy

Student Discipline in Illinois
Poltico Morning Education
May 21, 2015


A bill labeled as “groundbreaking” for student discipline has passed the Illinois legislature. The bill would ban most zero tolerance policies, limit long-term out-of-school suspension, ban disciplinary fines and fees, promote discipline alternatives and hold traditional public schools and charter schools to the same discipline standards. Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner supports the measure, [http://bit.ly/1KkQdgI] which was passed with bipartisan support. It would take effect in September 2016. The bill quickly earned praise from some advocacy groups. "Illinois legislators have demonstrated that by listening to students, we can create schools where all students are valued and supported in their learning,” said Dalia Mena, an 18-year-old member of Voices of Youth in Chicago Education [http://bit.ly/1BcPJRn]. The bill “makes Illinois go from one of the worst states when it comes to overusing exclusionary discipline, to being a national leader with a model for other states to follow.”

Widening Wealth Gap (in Higher Ed)
Inside Higher Ed
May 21, 2015

When Harvard University’s endowment fell by more than $10 billion during the 2008 financial crisis, it was a blow to the institution. But a lot of college presidents across the country considered the loss -- and the remaining $26 billion in Harvard’s endowment -- and thought that perhaps there were worse problems to have.

Harvard’s endowment has since rebounded. The university has cash and investments of nearly $43 billion, and is the wealthiest college in the country by more than $10 billion. Harvard is part of a prestigious pack of the 40 wealthiest universities in the country, which hold two-thirds of all the wealth among the 500 colleges rated by Moody's, which rates institutions that are financially sound enough to trade in public markets.

The rest of the pack have median cash and endowments of $273 million, or just 4 percent of the median $6.3 billion in cash and endowments at each of the wealthiest institutions, according to an April Moody’s report. The other 4,000 or so universities and colleges in the U.S. not rated by Moody's generally have even less liquid wealth.

U.S. public schools report fewer violent incidents
The Washington Post

May 21, 2015

The rate of violent incidents in the nation’s public schools fell between the 2009-2010 and 2013-2014 school years, a period in which security measures such as surveillance cameras became more widespread, according to new federal data released Thursday.

The reported reduction in violence comes even as high-profile crimes, including the 2012 shooting of 26 children and teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., have pushed school safety concerns into the nation’s consciousness.

Sixty-five percent of U.S. public schools reported at least one violent incident in 2013-2014, according to the new report issued by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).

That’s down from 74 percent in 2009-2010. The rate of violent incidents also fell, from 25 for every 1,000 students to 15 per 1,000 students.

How can education support veterans and vice versa?

With the solemn recognition of military service that accompanies each Memorial Day weekend, we want to focus this week's Compass Point on the relationship between military service and education policy.  This is increasingly salient as policy-makers seek ways to support the military veterans returning from active service in the wars in Iraq and Afganistan.   

Along with significant conversation in our current society about differences along class and racial/ethnic lines, there also is conversation about an increasing divide between the military and civilians - as a Military.com article points out, "less than one-half of 1 percent of the U.S. population is in the armed services today -- the lowest rate since World War II."  Also, 49% of active duty service members are located in five states - California, Virginia, Texas, North Carolina and Georgia.  The article reviews a number of ways that those enlisting in the armed forces have a different perspective on life - from the obvious stress of facing combat to the less obvious impacts that come from living on large bases that are increasingly self-contained in a security conscious post-9/11 environment. 

The article also cites a 2013 survey by three West Point professors that found the estrangement between the military and civilian worlds to be especially pronounced among young people. Many civilians born between 1980 and 2000 "want no part of military life and want it separate from civilian life," according to sociologist Morten G. Ender, one of the study's authors.

If such a gap between civilian and military understanding exists and is growing, how to work with children whose parents serve in the military may be a "cross-cultural" competency for K-12 teachers that may be overlooked in some cases.  Certainly resources exist - there is the Military Impacted Schools Association (MISA), a national organization for school superintendents serving districts with high concentrations of military children that provides resources targeted for families and school systems, including a sample school board policy to recognize the challenges that come with frequent relocations.  Likewise, the National Association for School Psychologists (NASP) provides a collection of resources on the same topic. 

In higher education, the question is often more about meeting the needs of persons preparing for military service, the needs of active duty service members pursuing ongoing professional development and those exiting the armed services and re-entering civilian life.  The graphic below summarizes what influences military undergraduates in their choice of higher education institution - not surprisingly location plays a big role. 












One area of significant policy development is how community colleges can best serve veterans, as reviewed in this US News and World Report article that highlights the efforts of Tidewater Community College.  Likewise, given the mobility of armed service personnel, another policy debate is over whether universities must grant recent veterans in-state tuition benefits regardless of their residency.  The Obama administration recently pushed back a compliance date for universities to do so. 

Also important are information clearinghouses for veterans interested in higher education - here is the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia's (SCHEV) site that provides a number of useful links. 

Our education poll hasn't looked much at perspectives on military service and
education but in 2006 we asked whether people thought licensure requirements for school system leadership positions should be waived or adjusted if someone had prior leadership experience in the military - we look at the responses in this week's poll snapshot.


Also this week, we feature a compilation of military and education related legislation and policy initiatives from this past legislative session - some which were enacted and others that were not - see the excerpt below.

Finally, for those wanting to get started in planning for next Memorial Day, here is a link to lesson plans from the NEA for Memorial Day lessons.

Sincerely,
CEPI
Poll Snapshot - Supplementing Educational Leadership from Military

Military personnel, especially those in leadership, gain significant experience in managing complex organizations.  School systems and individual schools have similarly complex organizational challenges ranging from logistics to motivation of personnel and developing a culture of excellence.  The potential transference of such leadership skills from military (or the private sector) experience to education settings and the key importance of leadership in education mean that some have proposed making it easier for leaders from other sectors to become leaders in the education setting. 

In 2006 we asked several questions about leadership development of principals and superintendents and requirements for licensure. Eighty-three percent of respondents felt that licensure should be required for all persons serving as public school principals and school division superintendents. We also asked whether such licensure requirements should be waived or altered for persons with experience as private sector or military leaders. The results are summarized below:
First, there was a clear majority of respondents who felt that regardless of prior experience in other sectors, education leaders needed to go through an education-specific licensure process. 

There was, however, some difference in the strength of support for licensure requirements based on gender and ethnicity.  Men were more comfortable with waiving or altering licensure requirements based on prior leadership experience, perhaps because until recently military leadership was exclusively male.  Non-whites were also more comfortable with waiving or altering licensure requirements. 

To read the full poll, visit our website.

Military-related education legislation and policies

From our final wrap-up summary of passed legislation, only one bill dealing with K-12 education and military personnel was enacted into law this year. 

"HB 2373 (Ramadan) and SB 1354 (Reeves) direct the DOE to establish a process for the identification by local school divisions of newly enrolled students who have a parent in the uniformed services, and require local school divisions to identify such students in accordance with the process. Data collected from such identification process shall be made available to local, state and federal entities for the purposes of becoming eligible for nongeneral fund sources and for receiving services."

That bill as well as other education topics were of significant interest in a December 2014 meeting of the Virginia Military Advisory Council, which included in its annual report the following summary:

"The second meeting of the year was held at Fort Lee in December 2014, with a focus on the priority determined from the June meeting: education.

In addition to the regular VMAC attendees, there were comments from Governor McAuliffe and the First Lady: both discussing the importance of education to the military community and the steps they plan the Commonwealth takes to ensure the concerns are addressed.

There were presentations by the Secretary of Education as identified below.
  • The Secretary of Education, Superintendent of Public Education and the Chancellor of the Virginia Community College System all made remarks on the steps being taken to enhance the quality of life for the military families. Of particular interest was the importance the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children and the role the installation school liaisons play to ensure that the needs of military children in grades K-12 are addressed.
  • Northern Virginia Community College representative talked about the program for the award of advanced learning credits for specific military education conducted by the United States Marine Corps for training in IT specialties. We want to expand this concept to other military services and include all Virginia community colleges.
  • Representatives from Tidewater Community College and Old Dominion University each discussed specific programs they have developed to work with service members and veterans on using Virginia education system to assist in the transition from military to civilian workforce.
  • There was a presentation on the Virginia Education WIZARD and the work being done to enhance this application to support the military. Once finalized, this application can be used to cross walk a specific military duty to employment opportunities in the Commonwealth and identify the education necessary to support the service member in that transition."
There were also several bills relating to higher education and the military:

HB 2354 - State Board for Community Colleges; policy for the award of academic credit for military training.

State Board for Community Colleges; policy for the award of academic credit for military training. Requires the State Board for Community Colleges to adopt, no later than December 31, 2015, a policy for the award of academic credit to any student enrolled at a comprehensive community college who has successfully completed a military training course or program as part of his military service that is applicable to the student's certificate of degree requirements and is recommended for academic credit by a national higher education association that provides academic credit recommendations for military training courses or programs, noted on the student's military transcript issued by any of the armed forces of the United States, or otherwise documented in writing by any of the armed forces of the United States. This bill is identical to SB 1335. PASSED and ENACTED

HB 2121 Tuition, in-state; members of the Virginia National Guard.

In-state tuition; members of the Virginia National Guard. Provides that any member of the Virginia National Guard residing in Virginia shall be eligible for in-state tuition at a public institution of higher education.  LEFT IN APPROPRIATIONS
 
To read the full newsletters, visit our website.