T C E B TRIANGLE COALITION ELECTRONIC BULLETIN JUNE 21, 2001 VOL. 7, NO. 24 _____________________________________________________ Published by the TRIANGLE COALITION FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION _____________________________________________________ THIS WEEK'S TOPICS: SENATE OK'S EDUCATION BILL YOUNGSTERS GET DOSE OF REAL SCIENCE 20 PERCENT INCREASE IN CHILDREN AGE 10-14 DEANS OF ENGINEERING AND EDUCATION: TAKING THE LEAD TO ENHANCE TECHNOLOGICAL LITERACY BIPARTISAN SCIENCE EDUCATION BILLS CLEAR COMMITTEE ALL-YEAR SCHOOLING FADING OUT: SOME TEXAS DISTRICTS DON'T SEE BENEFITS ____________________________________________________ SENATE OK'S EDUCATION BILL (Source: Boston Globe, June 15, 2001) In a bipartisan victory for the White House, the Senate overwhelmingly passed its version of President Bush's education proposal by a vote of 91-8. The House passed its version of the proposal last month by a similarly wide margin, 384-45. The differences between the two bills are not overwhelming, and administration officials and senators expressed hopes the two chambers can negotiate a compromise version before Congress leaves for its August recess. The Senate version of the bill largely mirrors the plan Bush laid out upon first taking office in January. It requires states to develop annual tests for students in grades 3 through 8. These tests would be used to determine whether states were improving in the education of their children and to determine which schools were failing in that regard. The National Assessment of Educational Progress would serve as a second measuring stick, to ensure that states were not making their tests too easy in order to appear to be making progress. Chronically failing schools would undergo several penalty phases, including possible reconstitution. The Senate plan also consolidates various education spending programs, and several new programs were created or carved out of the consolidation on the Senate floor. Overall, the Senate bill authorizes $33.6 billion in spending for the Elementary and Secondary School Act, up from $18.6 billion this year. In addition, the bill authorizes $8.8 billion on special education, fully funding that program. By contrast, the House bill authorizes $24 billion in spending, $9.6 billion less than the Senate bill. These figures are not actual expenditures, however; Congress would spend the money during the appropriations process over the summer and into the fall. Spending levels will be one of the biggest stumbling blocks. House conservatives are already irate over the spending authorized in their version of the bill, while Democrats have repeatedly accused the administration of trying to have ''education reform on the cheap.'' The House and Senate compromise bill is likely to take several weeks to negotiate. Democrats had discussed the possibility of delaying final passage of the compromise bill until after the education appropriations process was completed in order to ensure that they got the spending levels they desired. Another issue that the House and Senate must negotiate is flexibility for states in spending federal education dollars. The Senate version has a compromise allowing seven states and 25 districts to spend the money as they see fit in exchange for meeting higher achievement standards. The House version uses a different formulation to allow local districts, as opposed to states, greater flexibility in spending the money. The administration has promised House conservatives that the White House will fight for the Senate version of the program, which House Democrats strongly oppose. A pair of technical issues will also require ironing out. The two versions differ in how they determine whether a school is failing. While the House version is closer to the president's original plan, the Senate made changes to accommodate fears that schools would be judged too harshly. The House measure also allows for another standard other than the National Assessment of Educational Progress as a measure to ensure quality of state tests, a move the White House opposes. The Senate bill has the National Assessment as the sole second standard, in keeping with Bush's original plan. ************************************ YOUNGSTERS GET DOSE OF REAL SCIENCE (Source: Sun Chronicle, May 21, 2001) When Shahriar Khan learns about DNA, usually it's from a book or blackboard. In May, he learned about DNA by actually handling some DNA. The 13-year-old North Attleboro Middle School student was one of two-dozen eighth-graders who participated in CityLab, a unique program at Boston University School of Medicine where students from around New England learn science by doing it. That's the point of CityLab, to take youngsters out of the classroom and give them a taste of biotechnology in a professional laboratory. Middle schools and high schools from all over New England send their science classes to the school's campus, located just off Massachusetts Avenue at the edge of the city. CityLab began in 1992. Since then, more than 25,000 students have participated. Currently, 3,000 students a year visit the lab, and another 3,000 climb aboard the MobileLab, a rolling laboratory that visits schools across the region. The lucky students get to participate in laboratory investigations in molecular biology and DNA fingerprinting, to name two of the more popular programs offered. (Editor's Note: CityLab is a biotechnology learning laboratory for students and teachers at the Boston University School of Medicine. CityLab is supported by the Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) program of the National Institutes of Health, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. CityLab provides access to state-of-the-art laboratory facilities and curriculum in biotechnology for middle and high school teachers and students. At CityLab students are challenged to solve problems by applying the same techniques and concepts of genetics and molecular biology used in modern biotechnology laboratories today. CityLab modules conform to the National Science Education Standards, the Benchmarks for Science Literacy, and the Massachusetts Science and Technology Curriculum Framework. For more information about CityLab and its affiliated programs, visit www.bumc.bu.edu/citylab.) ************************************ 20 PERCENT INCREASE IN CHILDREN AGE 10-14 (Source: Yahoo! News, May 23, 2001) More than 20 million children will reach high school age in four years, posing difficult challenges for school districts already coping with classroom crowding and teacher shortages. Nationally, the number of children age 10-14 increased 20 percent in the last decade to 20.5 million, according to the 2000 census. The number of children age four and under, those who will be able to start elementary school over the next four years, increased four percent to 19.2 million. Population growth of Hispanics played a key role. The number of Hispanics under age 18 grew 59 percent to 12.3 million. Nevada had an 83 percent increase in children 10-14 during the decade and a 58 percent rise in the number of children age four and under. Arizona's 10-14 population grew 46 percent, while its four and under population increased 31 percent. Overcrowding, teacher shortages, and inadequate instruction for non-English speaking students are also serious problems for school districts in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. ************************************ DEANS OF ENGINEERING AND EDUCATION: TAKING THE LEAD TO ENHANCE TECHNOLOGICAL LITERACY In October 1998 more than one hundred engineers and educators convened to begin a collaboration to promote technological literacy. This workshop, entitled Technological Literacy Counts (TLC), was held in response to the lack of public understanding of the technology that impacts everyday living. Plenary speakers and panel sessions provided the backdrop for the development of an action agenda. Highly participatory breakout sessions, comprised of equal numbers of engineers and educators, met to discuss and debate the issues and to agree on a set of recommendations. It was agreed at TLC that Deans of Engineering and Deans of Education can lead in this effort. They are in positions of influence and can promote collaborations and joint ventures at their universities. These efforts will not only help current and future teachers acquire the necessary skills to teach technologically oriented subject matter, but can also support engineering faculty with curriculum reform and education outreach. To launch these collaborative efforts, IEEE (the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), is planning a two-day, highly interactive workshop, bringing together Deans of Education and Deans of Engineering. "Taking the Lead - The Deans Summit on Education for a Technological World," is slated for October 1-2, 2001, in Baltimore, MD. Deans of Engineering and Deans of Education will be empowered to become valuable resources and leaders in the effort to improve technological literacy. Registration will be limited to no more than 60 pairs of Deans from the same institution. The participants will represent US schools and international institutions and will be selected to ensure a rich diversity of programs. Professional engineering associations including the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American Society for Engineering Education, the National Academy of Engineering, the Semiconductor Industry Association, and professional education associations including the National Science Teachers Association, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the Triangle Coalition for Science and Technology Education, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the International Technology Educators Association, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education are rallying in support of this workshop. They agree that fostering collaboration will strengthen the curricula of both engineering and education students. For more information, visit www.ieee.org/organizations/eab/precollege/deansummit/index.htm or contact Douglas Gorham at [EMAIL PROTECTED] ************************************ BIPARTISAN SCIENCE EDUCATION BILLS CLEAR COMMITTEE The House Science Committee today passed two bills on June 13 that create programs at the National Science Foundation (NSF) to strengthen K-12 science and math education. Colleges, universities, and businesses will be encouraged to bring their extensive resources and expertise to bear in public schools, and the legislation seeks to ensure that the nation's classrooms have the brightest and best-prepared teachers. Both bills, H.R. 1858, National Mathematics and Science Partnerships Act and H.R. 100, National Science Education Act, passed by voice vote. "The need for improvements in science and math education is now undeniable," Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) said. "Our economic prosperity and indeed our status as a world leader are contingent on successfully educating children in science and mathematics." Chairman Boehlert introduced H.R. 1858 which would authorize Mathematics and Science Partnerships, create new scholarships to attract top college junior and senior math and science majors into teaching, and establish four new university centers for research into teaching and learning. H.R. 100, introduced by Rep. Vernon Ehlers (R-MI), passed the Committee without amendment. Ehlers praised the passage of the bill saying, "There is a huge need for improvements of K-12 math and science education. This bill will provide the opportunity and funding for a master teacher program that will also help improve math and science education to all school systems in the U.S." The bills will move to the House floor after consideration by the House Education and Workforce Committee. ************************************ ALL-YEAR SCHOOLING FADING OUT: SOME TEXAS DISTRICTS DON'T SEE BENEFITS (Source: The Dallas Morning News, June 15, 2001) A decade ago, it was the wave of the future. Now, the year-round calendar is becoming a thing of the past, at least in Texas. The idea was simple: Sharply cut back on the traditional summer break, and students will forget less and learn more. For a time in the 1990s, it was hard to find a large school district that wasn't at least considering a move to year-round schooling. But in the last four years, more than two-thirds of the Texas schools that had adopted year-round calendars switched back. Nearly every major school district in the Dallas-Fort Worth area has joined in the retreat, and many educators aren't sad to see the year-round calendar go. The number of year-round schools in Texas peaked at 359 in 1996-97. By last fall, there were 126. Year-round schedules have remained somewhat popular with schools targeting specialized populations, such as charter schools or campuses that serve the severely disabled. But it appears that by fall, there will be only a handful of mainstream campuses in the Dallas-Fort Worth area on a year-round schedule. In some ways, to even call the remaining campuses "year-round" is a bit of a misnomer. In Texas, schools that have a calendar only slightly longer than the traditional one -- say, one that starts school a couple of weeks earlier and ends it a couple of weeks later -- are considered "year-round," even if it still has a summer break of two months or more. Year-round schedules generally feature multiweek breaks, usually in November and March. During those breaks, students having academic difficulties can be kept in class for an extra week or two of tutoring and instruction. "The improvements seen have been substantial," said Marilyn Stenvall, executive director of the National Association for Year-Round Education. While the numbers have trailed off in Texas, year-round education continues to grow in popularity nationwide, she said, with more than 3,000 schools on the new calendar. Ms. Stenvall said she didn't know why Texas, which had been on the vanguard of the trend, was pulling back. _____________________________________________________ This TCEB is made possible by a grant from E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. Please visit their web site at www.dupont.com for more information about their educational support programs. 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 CPS Science Teacher List. To unsubscribe, send a message to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For more information: <http://home.sprintmail.com/~mikelach/subscribe.html>. To search the archives: <http://www.mail-archive.com/science%40lists.csi.cps.k12.il.us/>
