T C E B TRIANGLE COALITION ELECTRONIC BULLETIN OCTOBER 4, 2001 VOL. 7, NO. 36 _____________________________________________________
Published by the TRIANGLE COALITION FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION _____________________________________________________ THIS WEEK'S TOPICS: CONFERENCE REMINDER! MEETING THE CHALLENGES OF THE DECADE: SUCCESS THROUGH COLLABORATION WORK CONTINUES ON H. R. 1, FEDERAL EDUCATION REFORM BILL NONPROFIT ADOPT-A-CLASSROOM TRIANGLE COALITION MEMBER PROFILE: MATH CONNECTIONS EXPERTS SAY YOUNG CHILDREN NEED MORE MATH HANDHELD COMPUTING: NEW BEST TECH TOOL OR JUST A FAD? SCHOOLS' PRINCIPAL SHORTAGE: FEWER TEACHERS WANT THE JOB'S GROWING CHALLENGES ____________________________________________________ CONFERENCE REMINDER! MEETING THE CHALLENGES OF THE DECADE: SUCCESS THROUGH COLLABORATION It's not too late to register! Join the Triangle Coalition at the Washington Court Hotel on Capitol Hill for a reception and dinner on October 18th and a full day of interactive sessions on the 19th. Attendees will hear from an excellent slate of keynote speakers and leaders of successful business/education partnerships and will help identify the key characteristics that make partnerships effective. Anyone interested in math and science partnerships should attend! For more information on "Meeting the Challenges of the Decade: Success Through Collaboration," call 1-800-582-0115 or visit the Triangle Coalition website at www.trianglecoalition.org/conf.htm. ************************************ WORK CONTINUES ON H. R. 1, FEDERAL EDUCATION REFORM BILL (Source: National Science Teachers Association Legislative Alert, September 25, 2001) It appears that education is once again on the front burner just weeks after the tragedies in New York City, Washington, DC, and Pennsylvania. The divisive issues in H.R. 1 include accountability (how to define failing schools), funding (level of funding needed), and flexibility of the reform programs. As the language reads now, a sizable majority of American schools would be deemed "failing" under the House and Senate ESEA bill. Legislators and education experts are working to find a formula that they believe will help to hold schools accountable; however, many education experts warn that any federal accountability plan would fail, largely because each state defines school success differently, and states use a wide variety of tests to define school success. For this and other reasons, many large education groups are wary of the push to finish this bill. Significant differences are still under discussion in regard to the new Math and Science Partnerships. More information about these proposed Partnerships is available under the More News, Legislative Affairs tab at www.nsta.org. These differences between the House and the Senate bill appear in sections on funding authorizations for the Partnerships; administration of the Math and Science Partnerships; and the uses of grant funds. NSTA, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, and the Triangle Coalition for Science and Technology Education support a separate authorization for the Math and Science Partnerships. We also urge conferees to adopt the House language that authorizes the competitive grants at the state level. Competitive grants should be awarded to the Math and Science Partnerships by the state education agency instead of by the U. S. Department of Education. We also urge that the Math and Science Partnerships be authorized at the highest possible funding level. While the H.R. 1 conference committee is working hard to finish the authorizing language for federal education programs, the education appropriations committees are working to determine the actual amount that will be spent on federal education programs for the 2002-2003 school year. It was once assumed that the education authorizing bill (H.R. 1), which determines programs and suggests overall funding for these programs, would be in place before education appropriators would begin work. It now appears that H. R 1 conference members and education appropriators will be working closely to determine funding for next year. Markup of the education appropriations bill is scheduled for next week. House and Senate appropriators are now requesting $4 billion in additional funds for education in the fiscal year 2002 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education bill. (Editor's Note: The Triangle Coalition encourages you to contact your Representatives and Senators in support of the Math and Science Partnerships. Calling and e-mailing your letter/message is a good option at this point. Even if your Representative or Senator(s) is not a member of the conference committee, contact him/her anyway -- ask them to share your messages with the H.R. 1 conference committee and appropriators. The three key messages that should be heard: 1. Urge H.R. 1 conferees and education appropriators to guarantee the highest possible funding levels for the Math and Science Partnerships. 2. Urge H.R. 1 conferees to maintain a separate authorization for the Math and Science Partnerships. 3. Urge H. R. 1 conferees to authorize the Math and Science Partnerships programs as a state-based program, with grants administered by the State Education Agency, not as a federal program administered by the U. S. Department of Education. To contact via phone, call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to be connected to your Representative or Senator. To e-mail the Senate, visit www.senate.gov/contacting/index_by_state.cfm; to e-mail the House, visit www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW_by_State.htm.) ************************************ NONPROFIT ADOPT-A-CLASSROOM (Source: Houston Chronicle, September 16, 2001) Patterned after the national Adopt-A-Highway program, Adopt-A-Classroom is simple. Donors contribute $500 a year for a specific classroom, allowing teachers to fill their wish lists without dipping into their own pockets. Teachers can order whatever materials they want, and Adopt-A-Classroom pays the bill. Donors receive the invoices and invitations to see what they purchased. Five hundred dollars may not sound like a large sum, but it can make a huge difference. The National Education Association estimates that, on average, teachers spend more than $400 of their annual salaries on supplies and enrichment. Eighteen percent of them take second jobs to make ends meet. Adopt-A-Classroom helps ease that burden. Today, Adopt-A-Classroom has collected endorsements from school superintendents, mayors, Representatives of Congress, and U.S. Senators and matched more than 350 classes with donors. Virtually divided evenly among major sponsors, small businesses, and individuals, most donors are from Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties, but a few are in New York. (Editor's Note: Adopt-A-Classroom is primarily focused in Florida, but looking to expand to other states. For more information, visit www.adoptaclassroom.com or call 305-674-4470.) ************************************ TRIANGLE COALITION MEMBER PROFILE: MATH CONNECTIONS MATH Connections: A Secondary Mathematics Core Curriculum, was undertaken with a five-year National Science Foundation (NSF) grant awarded in 1992 to the Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA) Education Foundation. The result of the project is a core curriculum for grades 9-12 that opens the concepts of higher mathematics to all students and inspires new interest and excitement in mathematics for both students and faculty. Following four years of intensive field-testing, MATH Connections is in publication and is being implemented throughout the country and internationally. Using the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Standards as a guideline, MATH Connections blends the mathematics of algebra, geometry, probability, statistics, trigonometry, and discrete mathematics into a meaningful package that is interesting and accessible to all students. The text materials are designed to provide students with mathematical experiences that excite their curiosity, stimulate their imagination, and challenge their skills. MATH Connections is concept driven. It uses a common thematic thread that connects and blends many mathematical topics that traditionally have been taught separately and independently. This approach emphasizes the unity and interconnectedness among mathematical ideas. Technology is integrated into the curriculum through the use of graphing calculators and computers, which students use to investigate concepts in greater depth and breadth, make conjectures, and validate findings. Real world applications and problem situations from the sciences, the humanities, and business and industry are emphasized to prepare students for post-secondary education and the demands of the 21st Century. For more information, visit www.mathconnections.com, or contact the MATH Connections Implementation Center via 860-721-7010 or e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] ************************************ EXPERTS SAY YOUNG CHILDREN NEED MORE MATH (Source: Education Week, September 26, 2001) Some educators are worried that early-childhood education's heavy emphasis on encouraging children's literacy skills could be overshadowing the development of skills in another important area: mathematics. In response to those concerns, the National Association for the Education of Young Children is working with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics to draft a joint position statement about appropriate math instruction for 3- to 6-year-olds. The position statement is the latest in a series of activities over the past few years that have brought early-childhood educators and experts in math education together. Authors of the new document are planning to organize it into two sets of recommendations. The first part will offer descriptions of high-quality mathematical experiences for young children and the types of materials and activities that teachers can use to develop children's awareness of such concepts as numbers and geometric shapes. In the other section of recommendations, the authors will explain what it takes to equip early-childhood teachers with the knowledge and skills to strengthen their teaching of math. The position statement -- especially those areas focusing on teachers' professional development -- is being influenced by a National Research Council document released early this year. That 444-page report, "Adding It Up: Helping Children Learn Mathematics," recommended an overhaul of elementary and middle school mathematics and stressed that children need to acquire skills as well as a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts. It also emphasized that such learning should begin before children enter formal schooling. And so, beginning with pre-kindergarten, teachers should allot as much as an hour a day for math activities, the report recommended. For more information, visit www.naeyc.org. ************************************ HANDHELD COMPUTING: NEW BEST TECH TOOL OR JUST A FAD? (Source: Education Week, September 26, 2001) As students wandered into Rick Robb's English class at River Hill High School, they fished sandwich-size computers out of their backpacks and set them on their desks. The class was instantly connected in an electronic network when they turned on the devices, prompting Mr. Robb to launch the day's writing lesson. As they typed on the lightweight keyboards they'd unfolded and connected to their iPAQ handhelds, Mr. Robb could watch his screen to view any student's writing as it appeared. "I said first-person point of view," he called out to a boy on the far side of the room. Mr. Robb, who has received special training and adapted his teaching to use the system, said handheld computers have opened up all kinds of new ways to teach. And his students are responding enthusiastically. Handheld computing, once associated with only the most gadget-prone teachers and business people, is cropping up in classrooms all over the country, with iPAQs by Compaq Computer Corp., Palms by Palm Inc., and Visors by Handspring Inc. competing for the classroom turf. More and more school officials believe that the devices, which are relatively inexpensive compared with laptops or personal computers, are the best way to put a computer in the hands of each student. But the devices have stirred debate in some schools. Administrators have banned their use, saying some students use the little computers to cheat on tests, play noneducational games, or e-mail friends inside or outside the school. Even in schools that allow the use of handheld computers, educators have had to be vigilant in preventing mischievous students from using the devices as mere toys. In one West Virginia school, for example, students downloaded software from the Internet that enabled them to turn on the school's television sets with their handheld computers' wireless infrared-communications ports. Pranks were pulled for several days before a teacher caught on. Some districts that have been skeptical of the educational value of handhelds, though, are running up against more teachers who believe the devices have a place in 21st-century schools. ************************************ SCHOOLS' PRINCIPAL SHORTAGE: FEWER TEACHERS WANT THE JOB'S GROWING CHALLENGES (Source: San Francisco Chronicle, September 23, 2001) The nation and California are looking to their principals to resuscitate troubled schools, yet the pool of veteran educators willing to take on the job is shrinking. A recent survey by the Association of California School Administrators found that 90 percent of districts reported shortages of high school principal candidates, and 73 percent reported shortages of elementary principal candidates. A national survey found similar shortages. Veteran teachers who once might have seen leading a school as their ultimate goal now question why they should step into high-pressure roles and work a longer year for a salary not much greater than a classroom teacher's. Principals are increasingly expected to be the instructional leaders of their school. If their school's test scores don't go up, principals have reason to fear for their jobs. As principals complain there is too little support to help them cope, educational leaders and politicians are beginning to listen. They are taking the first steps toward reforms to help principals manage the job. School districts are experimenting with leadership academies, new recruitment strategies, mentoring, and creating new models for the principal's job. Universities are focusing training for principals more on real-life problems in schools and less on theory. But many principals still wonder whether that's enough. The term "principal" was once shorthand for the "principal teacher," but the job evolved over the decades to include more and more bureaucratic duties. Seattle schools have given principals -- who are sometimes referred to as CEOs -- more authority over their schools, by handing over the reins of nearly their entire school budget. In Southern California, several high schools in Glendale have instituted co-principals. Perhaps the biggest hurdle in recruiting principals is salary. In Mount Diablo Unified School District, a teacher with 15 years' experience earns $16 more per day than a beginning elementary school principal. In San Francisco, an elementary principal earns $5 more per day than a teacher with 15 years' experience. _____________________________________________________ This TCEB is made possible by a grant from AT&T. Please visit www.att.com/learningnetwork for more information about AT&T's support for education. The TCEB is a newsletter provided to members of the Triangle Coalition. Members may forward individual articles or the issue in its entirety providing that credit is given to the Triangle Coalition, and all of the following contact information is included in any republication. For TCEB subscription or membership information, contact: Triangle Coalition for Science and Technology Education 1201 New York Avenue, NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20005 phone: 800-582-0115 fax: 202-289-1303 e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.triangle-coalition.org To submit information for possible inclusion in TCEB, contact: Joanne Van Voorhis, Target Marketing, Editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] ************************************ THE MISSION OF THE TRIANGLE COALITION IS TO FOSTER COLLABORATION AMONG LEADERS IN EDUCATION, BUSINESS, AND GOVERNMENT TO IMPROVE SCIENCE, MATHEMATICS, AND TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION. The Triangle Coalition membership includes business, labor, education, science, mathematics, technology and engineering organizations, and community and state-based alliances. ************************************ -- This is the ISTA-talk mailing list. 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