Reporting on key Nebraska K-12 education issues on a daily basis from Susan Darst Williams, a writer who lives at the base of Mount Laundry, Nebraska. To subscribe to this blog's mailing list, and see a variety of other education features and information, visit the main education website, www.GoBigEd.com
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Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Posted
7:55 AM
by Susan Darst Williams
YOUR PUBLIC LIBRARY, PERHAPS?
Remember those top scholars honored recently in The World-Herald, mainly for how well they did on nationally-standardized college admissions tests?
Well, a lot of the reason for why they are where they are probably has to do with spending time under a shade tree with a glass of lemonade during the summers of their childhood.
Doing what? Reading!
Children who get the most out of school are those who have read the most. It’s a key reason why year-round schooling is a bad idea: there goes a child’s free time to self-educate through self-selected library books, with a block of time in the summer to read them.
Here’s the general idea: children should concentrate on “absorption” in Grades 1-4 – reading as much as they can to take in as much knowledge and as many vocabulary words as they can, the building blocks of comprehension. From Grades 5-8, they can move to “critical thinking” – books that challenge them and feed their natural inclination to argue and evaluate. Then, in the high school years, they’ll want “expression” – books that express points of view, and help them learn to form and express their own.
Without this progression, it is difficult, if not impossible, for a youngster to “ace” school and those important standardized tests. And most of all, a self-directed education through outside reading is the best way to shape your own mind, instead of leaving that to the whims of educators whose values and interests might be vastly different than your own.
Wise parents make sure children use the summer months to build their vocabularies and knowledge bases the cheapest and best way of all: reading library books. And Nebraska’s public libraries have started another summer of reading incentives. Wise parents (and grandparents, and caregivers!) have their children enrolled.
This year’s program theme has to do with animals: “Paws, Claws, Scales and TALES!” The way it takes shape at the Elkhorn Public Library, for example, children sign up for the program, and take home a sheet with little clocks to color to keep track of your reading time. As soon as you’ve read for eight hours, read to others, or been read to, you can turn the sheet in, and choose a reward.
They include certificates for a free kid’s meal, swimming pool passes, Royals baseball tickets, skating rink passes, and other treats. Each week, there’s also a standard reward, such as a book bag, bookmark, and a summer-end medal or trophy.
To keep kids coming in all summer, Elkhorn has prepared a calendar of storytimes, a discussion group on The Chronicles of Narnia series, and special events for kids following the animal theme, including a raptor show, dog day and other offbeat activities.
For more on the summer reading programs going on across the state, see:
http://www.nlc.state.ne.us/libdev/summerreading/sumread.html
Also note this important event planned at the Norfolk Public Library:
12th Annual Literature Festival, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 29, Northeast Community College Lifelong Learning Center; contact Karen Drevo, kdrevo@ci.norfolk.ne.us
Also see www.nebraskareadaloud.org and www.nebraskalibraries.org/golden/sower.htm
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Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Posted
9:33 AM
by Susan Darst Williams
GI-NORMOUS SCHOOL BOND ISSUE
DEFEATED IN KATY, TEXAS: WHAT A MODEL
Nebraskans who believe that public schools could be far more cost-effective, avoiding multi-million dollar bond issues and still providing top-quality education, should take heart from a huge development out of Katy, Texas, near Houston:
Voters turned down a proposed $261.5 million bond issue earlier this month after a small group of citizens waged a campaign to educate voters on how the district has been spending the big bucks already entrusted to it, and how taking on additional debt would actually decrease funds for instruction, rather than enhancing classroom revenues. Apparently, voters agreed that better management was the answer, not more dough, with a margin of victory of more than 10%.
According to education activist www.peytonwolcott.com, it is highly unusual for a bond issue to fail in Texas. She said the striking defeat was brought about by the efforts of six local citizens (www.katycitizens.org and www.radiofreekaty.com) and members of New Media (www.EducationNews.org and www.katytimes.com). Mrs. Wolcott reports that a bond issue has NEVER failed before in Katy.
Note to Nebraskans: See what a tiny group of citizens can do against Big Schools and Big Media!
Marian choir first in Texas
It was a whale of a 50th anniversary present to Marian High School, as its Select Women’s Choir took first place at the Heritage Music Festival in Dallas a few weeks ago. The young women sang an original song, “I Will Rejoice in the Lord,” commissioned by Marian from world-renowned composer Z. Randall Stroope of the University of Nebraska at Omaha. The song commemorates the Nebraska high school’s 50th year; Stroope is the father of a Marian graduate. The choir obtained superior ratings across the board at the Texas festival and returned to rate a rare 1+ at music districts in Nebraska.
Power Drive: North Platte, Bancroft/Rosalie Win
One of the neatest events in Nebraska education took place recently as the OPPD/NPPD Power Drive Championship Rally laid scratch on the pavement. North Platte High School took first place in the standard division, while Bancroft/Rosalie won the advanced category.
In Power Drive, high-school students are assigned to build a car big enough to climb inside and drive around in, powered with electricity. At competitions, the students have to start them up, fix them when they stop, maneuver around cones and each other, and do it quickly and safely. OPPD started the contest in 1999 with 12 cars; this year there were 60.
Check results on: http://ww1.oppd.com/edu/powerdrive/results_finals_2006.cfm
Teeny Tiny Schools Score Big in History Contest
Last week’s report on Nebraska students who earned the right to compete at Nationals for the History Day competition focused on the number of private schools vs. public schools in the competition. But it should be noted that a disproportionate amount of the winners were from Nebraska’s smallest schools as well. Here’s the same list, with the relatively small towns in bold. Note, for example, Kewanee Public School, which is a teeny tiny school on Highway 12, just west of Sparks in Cherry County east of Valentine.
Junior Group Exhibit: 1. "Woman Taking a Stand on the American Home Front during World War II," Alexandria Walenz, Bailey Mangers, Morgan Jacobi, Rachel Lemke and Sarah Wolf, St. Cecilia Middle School, Hastings; 2. "Standing Firm as a Crusader for the Mentally Ill: Dorothea Lynde Dix," Emily Simmons and Sarah Simmons, Kewanee Public School, Valentine.
Junior Individual Exhibit: 1. "Gentlemen the Fences Must Come Down," Travis Johnson, Glen District, Crawford; 2. "Abraham's Moment of Decision," Luke Evans, Wisner-Pilger.
Junior Individual Performance: 1. "Doolittle Takes a Stand Against Japan," Brandon Rossell, Elkhorn Ridge Middle School, Elkhorn; 2. "Rosie the Riveter: Taking a Stand for the U.S.," Kate Miller, Elkhorn Ridge Middle School.
Junior Group Performance: 1. "Workers and Farmers Take a Stand in Loup City," Angie Wieser, Ben Heusinkvelt, Hannah Spenceri, Kevin Connelly and Sara Dolezal, St. Isidore Elementary School, Columbus; 2. "No Really Bad Boys: One Man's Stand," Andrew Heusinkvelt, Emily Neville, Nicholas Preister, Stephani Jarecke and Thomas Schumacher, St. Isidore Elementary School.
Junior Group Documentary: 1. "A Country Torn: Women in the Islamic Revolution," Carey McGehee and Sara Babcock, Hastings Middle School; 2. "Standing Tall: The Story of Boys Town," Chloe Kucera, Alex Bolte, Kelsey Newman, Michael Esch and Trey Stuthman, St. Isidore Elementary School.
Junior Individual Documentary: 1. "Suzette LaFlesche: The Voice of Native Americans," Jenna Moore, St. Isidore Elementary School; 2. "Oscar and Emilie Schindler: Standing Up for Victims of the Holocaust," Kellie Sholes, Ainsworth Middle School.
Junior Individual Paper: 1. "The Heroic Life of Oscar Schindler," Karen Koch, St. Rose of Lima Elementary School, Crofton; 2. "Native Americans in the French and Indian War," Dustin Aherin, Syracuse.
Junior Web Site: 1. "Candy Lightner: Taking a Stand Against Drunk Driving," Morgan Rezaei, Elkhorn Ridge Middle School; 2. "Enola Gay - Taking a Right in History," Anna Haneline, St. John the Baptist Elementary, Plattsmouth.
Senior Group Exhibit: 1. "Rosa Parks: Sitting Down to Take a Stand," Laura Herbolsheimer, Meagan Zautke and Nathan Bilau, Pierce; 2. "Changing Lives through Photographs," Amanda Ball, Jessica Harris and Joan Yule, Science Focus Program (Zoo School), Lincoln.
Senior Individual Exhibit: 1. "The Vietnam War: Taking a Stand for Peace," Adrienne Hoffmann, Pierce; 2. "John Walsh: Taking a Stand Against Crime," Elizabeth Jones-Owens, Omaha Mercy.
Senior Individual Performance: 1. "Taking a Stand Against a Social Evil," Erika Goergen, Omaha Burke; 2. "William Jennings Bryan," Adam Brown, Science Focus Program (Zoo School).
Senior Group Performance: 1. "Carry Nation: Taking a Stand Against Taking a Drink," Chelsea Liska, Emilee Seier and Morgan Otto-Berglund, Pierce; 2. "Standing Up to Hitler: Andrew Jackson Higgins," Chelsea Rieckman, David Foote and Derek Edwards, Columbus.
Senior Group Documentary: 1. "Theodore Roosevelt: Conserving America's Future," Evan Wilson, Mitch Paine and Richard Carlson, Science Focus Program (Zoo School); 2. "Stetson Kennedy: One Man Against the Klan," Roger Carlson and Thomas Zimmer, Science Focus Program (Zoo School).
Senior Individual Documentary: 1. "Harry Truman and the Integration of the U.S. Military," Taryn Overton, Science Focus Program (Zoo School); 2. "W.E.B. Du Bois: Standing for Civil Rights and Serving His Race," Derek Hutchins, Science Focus Program (Zoo School).
Senior Paper: 1. "Barbed Wire: Taking a Stand to Transform the Events, People and Ideas of the Wild West," Kylie Kinley, Blue Hill; 2. "John Thomas Scopes vs. the State of Tennessee: Defending Fundamental Freedoms," Lauren Pohren, Omaha Duchesne.
Senior Web Site: 1. "Einstein: Taking a Stand for the Preservation of Life," Sam Davis, Elkhorn.
Millard West Principal Honored for Science Expansion
Millard West High School Principal Richard Kolowski has been singled out for excellence in science education for fostering good relationships between the school’s science program and the community, and plans to add another 55,000 square feet to the school that would include eight new science classrooms.
He was awarded the national “CIBA Specialty Chemicals High School Principal Award” by a group including the Busch Entertainment Corporation, DCAT, Delta Education, the Discovery Channel, Dow Chemical, Ohaus Corporation, Shell Oil Company, Vernier Software & Technology, and VSP.
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Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Posted
11:52 AM
by Susan Darst Williams
CLASS 1 SCHOOLS KEEP FIGHTING FOR LIFE;
NEBRASKA PRIVATE SCHOOLS SHINE;
HERO HISTORIANS GO NATIONAL;
DEFENDING GRADUATION PRAYER
Harlem Children’s Zone: a Model for Inner-City Omaha
As Nebraska’s educrats continue to grapple with what to do with the mess in the Omaha Public Schools, and boo-hoo over lawsuits being filed, and argue over who’s going to be in charge instead of discussing what works, and set out to build a whole ‘nother expensive new infrastructure on top of the already-bloated and ineffective one we already have, it is humbling to look at a simple model that really, really works, and wonder WHY IN THE SAM HILL WE CAN’T THINK OF STUFF LIKE THIS.
It’s the Harlem Children’s Zone in New York City, a privately-funded, multidisciplinary, community-wide approach to helping needy children build a strong foundation for obtaining a good education and a better chance at life. And guess who’s not in charge? The educrats! What a concept!
See www.hcz.org This private-sector solution for inner-city children was started by writer/educator Geoffrey Canada. There’s a cool person if there ever was one; check out his biography on the website.
Here’s a little about them from the website, and ask yourself: why couldn’t we do this in Omaha? Who’s in our way – besides the educrats?
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The Harlem Children's Zone Project is a multi-year comprehensive community building initiative of the Harlem Children's Zone. The HCZ Project's mission is to create significant, positive opportunities for all children living in a 60-block area of Central Harlem by helping parents, residents, teachers and other stakeholders create a safe learning environment for youth. We aim to improve outcomes for poor children and families in devastated communities, starting in Central Harlem.
Behind this mission lie two main tenets: First, children from troubled communities are far more likely to grow to healthy, satisfying adulthood (and to help build a better community) if a critical mass of the adults around them are well versed in the techniques of effective parenting, and are engaged in local educational, social, and religious activities with their children.
Second, the earlier a child is touched by sound health care, intellectual and social stimulation, and consistent guidance from loving, attentive adults, the more likely that child will be to grow into a responsible and fulfilled member of the community. Intervention at later stages is still important — and must be adjusted as the person progresses through the various stages of youth. But later intervention is more costly and less sure of success. Families will need these later efforts to a lesser degree and in declining amounts if the earliest intervention is effective.
These twin principles — a critical mass of engaged, effective families, and early and progressive intervention in children's development — are crucial to the mission of the Harlem Children's Zone. Our focus over the next several years will be taking the Harlem Children's Zone to its logical fulfillment — extending the Zone and reaching a greater percentage of residents in the Zone with a wider, more effective mix of services, particularly at earlier ages.
Thus, what began as a strategic plan in July 1997, has evolved into a resident-driven community-building initiative that serves over 8,600 children annually. The work over the past several years has reaffirmed our belief that in order to create positive opportunities and outcomes for all of the children who live in the Harlem Children's Zone Project, we must continue to develop an integrated network of services and support that provides: family stability; opportunities for employment; decent and affordable housing; a quality education; and youth development activities for adolescents.
Class I Schools Turn to District Court Cases, Green Petititon
Mike Nolles of Burwell, leader of the Class I schools defense team, is a pretty funny guy. Although he is sad and frustrated that the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the legal arguments of those who want to preserve Nebraska’s rural one-room schoolhouses, he remarked in an email to supporters that now the high court will have time to hear the truly “valuable” cases such as Anna Nicole Smith's. Sigh!
Nolles said he met with attorneys John Recknor and Don Stenberg and they have mapped out strategy for the coming months. Key directions include continuing to push for what’s called the “green amendment,” referring to the green paper of the petitions being circulated by Nebraskans for Local Schools that are due by July 7, and also the numerous due-process district court cases that are still pending, including 32 which will be heard on Wednesday in Burwell. The group continues to believe that in November, voters will repeal LB 126, and put the Class I schools back in business.
You can contact Nolles, send money for the cause, and learn how to help by checking:
www.classonesunited.com
www.NebraskansForLocalSchools.org
Nebraska Private-School Grads Outshine Public-School Counterparts
Kudos to The World-Herald for publishing its annual “Scholars” supplement Sunday, listing honors and accomplishments of Nebraska’s high school Class of 2006. The 22-page special section is a great way to salute hard-working young scholars. Would that they would get half as much recognition as our hard-working young athletes all year long. But oh, well, eh?
One thing stood out mightily, and that is the much-higher proportion of private-school students who received the highest honors, compared to public-school students, at least in Omaha and Lincoln, where there are alternatives to public school.
Two of the nine All-State Scholars were from private schools, and nearly one-third of those listed on first and second teams for the metro and eastern Nebraska honorees were privately educated. Meanwhile, only around 10% of Nebraska’s current seniors are enrolled in private schools and homeschools.
Look at tiny Elkhorn Mount Michael, with a graduating class of 46; one student was named All-State and All-Metro, two more made second team All-Metro, and four more received Honorable Mention. Omaha’s Creighton Prep also placed disproportionately more students on this honor roll.
High-Fives For Nebraska’s Best History Students
They’re going national! About 60 Nebraska students have won the right to compete at National History Day in June at the University of Maryland in College Park.
The students qualified by taking first or second in various categories at the 26th annual state competition held at Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln.
Private school winners in red:
Junior Group Exhibit: 1. "Woman Taking a Stand on the American Home Front during World War II," Alexandria Walenz, Bailey Mangers, Morgan Jacobi, Rachel Lemke and Sarah Wolf, St. Cecilia Middle School, Hastings; 2. "Standing Firm as a Crusader for the Mentally Ill: Dorothea Lynde Dix," Emily Simmons and Sarah Simmons, Kewanee Public School, Valentine.
Junior Individual Exhibit: 1. "Gentlemen the Fences Must Come Down," Travis Johnson, Glen District, Crawford; 2. "Abraham's Moment of Decision," Luke Evans, Wisner-Pilger.
Junior Individual Performance: 1. "Doolittle Takes a Stand Against Japan," Brandon Rossell, Elkhorn Ridge Middle School, Elkhorn; 2. "Rosie the Riveter: Taking a Stand for the U.S.," Kate Miller, Elkhorn Ridge Middle School.
Junior Group Performance: 1. "Workers and Farmers Take a Stand in Loup City," Angie Wieser, Ben Heusinkvelt, Hannah Spenceri, Kevin Connelly and Sara Dolezal, St. Isidore Elementary School, Columbus; 2. "No Really Bad Boys: One Man's Stand," Andrew Heusinkvelt, Emily Neville, Nicholas Preister, Stephani Jarecke and Thomas Schumacher, St. Isidore Elementary School.
Junior Group Documentary: 1. "A Country Torn: Women in the Islamic Revolution," Carey McGehee and Sara Babcock, Hastings Middle School; 2. "Standing Tall: The Story of Boys Town," Chloe Kucera, Alex Bolte, Kelsey Newman, Michael Esch and Trey Stuthman, St. Isidore Elementary School.
Junior Individual Documentary: 1. "Suzette LaFlesche: The Voice of Native Americans," Jenna Moore, St. Isidore Elementary School; 2. "Oscar and Emilie Schindler: Standing Up for Victims of the Holocaust," Kellie Sholes, Ainsworth Middle School.
Junior Individual Paper: 1. "The Heroic Life of Oscar Schindler," Karen Koch, St. Rose of Lima Elementary School, Crofton; 2. "Native Americans in the French and Indian War," Dustin Aherin, Syracuse.
Junior Web Site: 1. "Candy Lightner: Taking a Stand Against Drunk Driving," Morgan Rezaei, Elkhorn Ridge Middle School; 2. "Enola Gay - Taking a Right in History," Anna Haneline, St. John the Baptist Elementary, Plattsmouth.
Senior Group Exhibit: 1. "Rosa Parks: Sitting Down to Take a Stand," Laura Herbolsheimer, Meagan Zautke and Nathan Bilau, Pierce; 2. "Changing Lives through Photographs," Amanda Ball, Jessica Harris and Joan Yule, Science Focus Program (Zoo School), Lincoln.
Senior Individual Exhibit: 1. "The Vietnam War: Taking a Stand for Peace," Adrienne Hoffmann, Pierce; 2. "John Walsh: Taking a Stand Against Crime," Elizabeth Jones-Owens, Omaha Mercy.
Senior Individual Performance: 1. "Taking a Stand Against a Social Evil," Erika Goergen, Omaha Burke; 2. "William Jennings Bryan," Adam Brown, Science Focus Program (Zoo School).
Senior Group Performance: 1. "Carry Nation: Taking a Stand Against Taking a Drink," Chelsea Liska, Emilee Seier and Morgan Otto-Berglund, Pierce; 2. "Standing Up to Hitler: Andrew Jackson Higgins," Chelsea Rieckman, David Foote and Derek Edwards, Columbus.
Senior Group Documentary: 1. "Theodore Roosevelt: Conserving America's Future," Evan Wilson, Mitch Paine and Richard Carlson, Science Focus Program (Zoo School); 2. "Stetson Kennedy: One Man Against the Klan," Roger Carlson and Thomas Zimmer, Science Focus Program (Zoo School).
Senior Individual Documentary: 1. "Harry Truman and the Integration of the U.S. Military," Taryn Overton, Science Focus Program (Zoo School); 2. "W.E.B. Du Bois: Standing for Civil Rights and Serving His Race," Derek Hutchins, Science Focus Program (Zoo School).
Senior Paper: 1. "Barbed Wire: Taking a Stand to Transform the Events, People and Ideas of the Wild West," Kylie Kinley, Blue Hill; 2. "John Thomas Scopes vs. the State of Tennessee: Defending Fundamental Freedoms," Lauren Pohren, Omaha Duchesne.
Senior Web Site: 1. "Einstein: Taking a Stand for the Preservation of Life," Sam Davis, Elkhorn.
Defending Graduation Prayer
Here’s an excellent briefing for all those who wish to preserve First Amendment rights to free speech, especially freedom of religious expression, at graduation time. Maybe it’s too late for this year, but for those of you with youngsters coming up, be sure to circulate this information with other parents and taxpayers, and make sure your local school officials are up to speed.
“Friend or Foe” Graduation Prayer Campaign from Liberty Counsel:
www.lc.org/Resources/memogradprayer.pdf
Also search “graduation prayer” on these two good websites:
American Center for Law and Justice
www.aclj.org
Alliance Defense Fund
www.alliancedefensefund.org
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Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Posted
10:43 AM
by Susan Darst Williams
ENCOURAGE VOTING TODAY;
PRIVATE HIGH SCHOOL KIDS PLAN BENEFIT CONCERT;
UPDATE ON PAPILLION-LAVISTA BOND ISSUE;
GO BIG ED GOES WEEKLY
Vote Today, and Encourage Good Candidates Like Wilmot
If you were Kathy Wilmot of Beaver City, Neb., and the state’s most powerful education lobby, the teachers’ union, leveled a dishonest, late-hit, low-blow smear attack against you on the weekend before the election, how would you feel about your decision to offer your candidacy for public service? Not very good. Mrs. Wilmot, former member of the State Board of Education, is running for the southwest Nebraska state legislative seat now. A union-financed postcard implied that she improperly kept a laptop computer that belonged to the state after her tenure on the State Board of Education. Mrs. Wilmot says she thought she had returned it; it was in her attic with other old computer parts, and she has been using her own computer for many years. She said she returned it immediately after she received a letter recently inquiring about it, and that was the first she realized that she hadn’t returned it with all the other equipment she had returned. Mrs. Wilmot has consistently voted against spending increases and questionable or immoral curriculum in Nebraska’s public schools, and wants to expand that representation to all of Nebraska’s governmental functions as a state senator. There’s more coming in this episode, so stay tuned – and in the meantime, get out the vote in the McCook area for Kathy Wilmot.
Three Cheers for Private School Kids in Omaha
Students from Creighton Prep, Marian and Duchesne High Schools are collaborating on a benefit rock concert this Friday night, May 12, at the Sokol Underground in South Omaha. Doors open at 7; tickets are $15, which includes a free T-shirt. The main attraction has donated its concert time: Eagle Seagull of Lincoln. Other groups also will play. The students are attempting to raise money to help the family of Tom Daly, the 17-year-old junior at Roncalli who had a heart attack while mowing some of the numerous lawns he takes care of in order to help support his family. Why? Because his father, an attorney, became mentally and physically disabled a few years ago while falling off a roof cleaning the family’s gutters. Now the son lays in a coma. If you would like to support the teenagers who are supporting this family, please send a donation to the Tom Daly Fund; contact Julie Erickson, (402) 551-2004, for details.
Update on Papillion-LaVista Bond Issue
Here’s what the school district sent a constituent who had inquired about the upcoming Papillion-LaVista bond issue:
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As a past participant in the bond issue community forum, we wanted to update you on the current status of the school bond issue…Please, as always, feel free to share any feedback or input you may have…
At the April 24 School Board meeting, the Board of Education reviewed the draft bond issue proposal that will be taken to the community for feedback. The goal is to collect feedback from the community throughout the months of May and June. If necessary, the proposal will be revised throughout the month of July and a resolution adopted by the Board of Education in August. If the community feedback indicates that no changes are necessary, the School Board may adopt the proposal as is. The plan is to have the public vote on the bond proposal in November.
Please mark your calendar to attend one of the bond issue meetings:
May 10 at Hickory Hill Elementary 7:00 pm
May 16 at Rumsey Station Elementary 7:00 pm
May 17 at Anderson Grove Elementary 7:00 pm
May 18 at Papillion-La Vista High School 7:00 pm
May 23 at PL South High School 7:00 pm
ALL meetings are open to the public. Residents can choose any of the above meetings to attend. Please help us spread the word!
The Bond Issue Proposal
Below is a brief synopsis of the projects included in the bond issue proposal.
Two New Elementary Schools (Shadow Lake & Grandview)
$8.6 million (1st)
$8.86 million (2nd – due to inflation)
· Both schools are south of Highway 370
· Relieve crowding at Walnut Creek Elementary
· Built as 3 unit schools (3 classes each grade level)
Rumsey Station Elementary
$880,000
· Additional multipurpose area & classroom
· Allows neighborhood to remain at Rumsey Station and provide the same educational program as other schools (music and PE)
Hickory Hill
$797,000
· Classroom addition to accommodate growth from Settlers Creek
· Adds art classroom
· Additional kindergarten classroom
Junior High Schools
$438,000
· Provides air conditioning to gym at both La Vista Junior High and Papillion Junior High
· Only program assembly area in either junior high school
Papillion-La Vista High School
$17 million
The architect with the assistance of high school administrators conducted a comprehensive study of the facility in order to identify areas that that needed to be upgraded to accommodate the current educational program. Based on that study the following areas were identified.
· Band addition & equipment storage
· Front office, guidance area and front entrance renovation
· Additional classrooms
· North entrance and cafeteria remodel
· Media center expansion
· Classroom and restroom renovation
· Family Consumer science classroom expansion
· Science classroom renovation
· Tech Ed. Classroom addition
· Woods/Home Maintenance renovation
· ADA compliance issues
· Technical upgrades ( increased circuitry and HVAC)
· Fire sprinklers throughout
· Pool Observation addition
· Wrestling room renovation
· Athletic field renovation
o including field turf on a football/soccer field with seating for 500 and seating for 500 around the track
Papillion-La Vista South
$2.88 million
· 16 classroom addition
· Current capacity/ enrollment = 1450 / 1357
· New capacity = 1850
· Accommodate growth on south side of district
Transportation/Warehouse
$540,000
· Not currently adequate to serve growing student population
· Renovation of interior
· Addition of parking area for transportation vehicles
Total Project Cost = $39,995,000
Tax Impact = .02 -.04 cents
On a $100,000 home total impact per year $20-$40
On a $200,000 home total impact per year is $40-$80
Nebraska Gets Zero on Top High School List
Earth to Nebraskans: we don’t have even ONE high school on this list from Newsweek of the nation’s top 1,200 high schools. Not even ONE! Nebraska is one of six states not to make this list. Since the rankings are made based on the percentage of graduating seniors who take Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate exams, it could be seen as an indictment of the quality of our curriculum and competitiveness of our schools compared to other states . . . or a compliment to Nebraska educators, that we haven’t yet “fallen” for the push to nationalize our schools through national tests such as those. Which do you think? All I know is, we should talk about this, and make sure we’re OK with it:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12532668/site/newsweek/
Go Big Ed Goes Weekly
Go Big Ed will bring you news briefs every Tuesday on a wide range of topics, instead of one long feature story. They’ll be posted on www.GoBigEd.blogspot.com and archived in 10 categories on www.GoBigEd.com for easy future reference. Remember to send me story ideas wherever you are across the state, about all facets of K-12 education, including private-school and homeschool news. Thank you!
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Saturday, May 06, 2006
Posted
12:46 PM
by Susan Darst Williams
UNION, EDUCRAT SMEAR CAMPAIGN
WON'T STOP KATHY WILMOT
Take a look at this story of a last-minute, dirty campaign trick that threatens the candidacy of one of the best public servants Nebraska has ever had. She’s Kathy Wilmot of Beaver City, candidate for the Nebraska Legislature in District 44 in the southwest corner of the state, in the counties surrounding McCook.
“Wilmot: Smear Campaign Shows She’s on the Right Track”
www.mccookgazette.com
The Nebraska State Education Association and the state’s educrat oligarchy are at it again. A few years ago, they used last-minute dirty tricks, including the use of taxpayer-provided equipment, and a massive phone bank, to unseat Mrs. Wilmot from the State Board of Education and put a union-controlled puppet, Kandy Imes, in place instead. Why? Because Kathy Wilmot is so good at exposing their mistakes and selfishness, and so focused on doing what’s best for children and taxpayers instead of union wonks and educrats.
See https://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showstory.cfm?ArticleID=4668 for a look at what happened last time.
Now the pro-union, pro-educrat forces are funding this nonsense allegation to try to hurt her again, too late for Mrs. Wilmot to defend herself – unless the “good guys” fight back.
Here’s a map of that legislative district. Please, please, please contact any voters you know in that area and ask them to please, please, please vote for Kathy Wilmot for Legislature, and defeat this despicable tactic:
http://unicam.state.ne.us/maps/legislature/districts/pdf/Dist44.pdf
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GO BIG ED becomes a weekly feature, starting next Tuesday. Changes are ahead for the website that I think you’ll really like. A couple of other exciting initiatives are in the works, too. Let’s work together to bring the best ideas for both kids and taxpayers to the forefront of the discussion, so that education in Nebraska can truly be #1 in the country. Go Big Ed!
(0) comments
Friday, May 05, 2006
Posted
8:44 AM
by Susan Darst Williams
WHO'LL DO GREAT THINGS FOR EDUCATION
Nebraska is extremely fortunate to have some wonderful candidates for education-related public offices available for your support in Tuesday’s voting.
Go Big Ed enthusiastically endorses these people in selected races:
Governor: Tom Osborne
State Legislature:
District 6: John Nelson
District 10: Mike Friend
District 20: Carol Casey
District 44: Kathy Wilmot
University of Nebraska Regent:
District 8: Randy Ferlic
State Board of Education:
District 5: Alan Jacobsen
District 6: Marilyn Carpenter
District 7: Paula Pfister
District 8: Dick Galusha
School Board:
North Platte: Judy Hansen
Hats off to this faithful voter’s guide, which has published candidate information for most of the state and local races on the ballot Tuesday. Spend some time there this weekend. Send some money, if you can, to help offset the expenses for this crucial public service. It can really help you do your duty as a good citizen, and bone up on who’s who and what’s what:
www.voterinformation.org
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GO BIG ED becomes a weekly feature, starting next Tuesday. Changes are ahead for the website that I think you’ll really like. A couple of other exciting initiatives are in the works, too. Let’s work together to bring the best ideas for both kids and taxpayers to the forefront of the discussion, so that education in Nebraska can truly be #1 in the country. Go Big Ed!
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Thursday, May 04, 2006
Posted
10:23 AM
by Susan Darst Williams
BUILDING A PRIVATE EDUCATION MARKETPLACE
You know how you come to a point where you have to fish, or cut bait? Well, I’ve got my pole and my lucky hat and am ready to go.
I’m ready to leave the public education mess behind me. Our third daughter graduates from a public high school in a few days, and our “whoopsie daisy” is in kindergarten in a private school, where we intend to keep her, so my motivation to watchdog the public schools is graduating and moving on, too.
But I’m not giving up just for personal reasons. It’s because I’ve lost hope that the public schools can be fixed.
I’ve watched the standards and assessments pushed by State Education Commissioner Doug Christensen wreak havoc with academics. I hate the Political Correctness and “values-neutral” philosophy that is screwing up so many kids’ hearts. I hate the state data collection system that’s being in put in place that’s scary and nosy. I hate seeing so many good teachers growing increasingly frustrated and disappointed.
I’m afraid Humpty can’t be put back together again, and after giving it my best shot for 15 years, I’m tired of trying. I wish those who still believe there’s hope for the system rots o’ ruck. But sayonara, Baybee.
After making endorsements in education-related political races Friday, I’ll move Go Big Ed stories to weekly, and they’ll come to you on Tuesdays from now on. I’ll probably write about public education once a month, and private schools and homeschooling the other weeks. I’ll archive those weekly stories on www.GoBigEd.com, and will try to put more facts and figures on the website so that it’ll be of service to you in the future.
But I’m out of here, mainly because I can’t see that the same people who got us in to all these problems are able to get us out of them. And they won’t listen to anybody who can think outside the box. I’ve seen them deliberately block just about every idea that might help – phonics-only reading instruction, charter schools, vouchers, merit pay, alternative certification for inner-city teachers. . . .
So I give up on even trying to get school choice in Nebraska. I don’t think the educrats, particularly Commissioner Christensen, would let it succeed. And he has effectively hog-tied the State Board of Education, which supposedly bosses him, so again, rots o’ ruck there.
I’m going to dedicate Go Big Ed from now on to building up our private schools, fostering more of them to open up in various forms, and helping people of all demographic groups get their kids into them.
I feel sad about this. I feel like a failure. I’m usually an optimistic and idealistic person. But in my old age, when it comes to Nebraska’s public education system, I’ve become a cynic. Three things have ruined my interest in, and support of, public education:
OPM Disease – since public schools have an unstoppable IV to siphon off “Other People’s Money,” there’s no way to force them to be cost-effective.
Mean and Nasty Disease – the cruel and often false things that are being said on all sides of the OPS and Class I controversies have just wrung out of me any interest in dealing with people who could be so heartless. And dang! They’re in charge of our KIDS!
Myth-Information Disease – it’s shocking how many educators and public figures are operating on false assumptions, faulty data, claptrap and propaganda, but don’t even know it, and when you point it out, instead of being glad, they get insulted, bonk you, and keep on keepin’ on.
Now, I went to journalism school in Missouri, the “Show Me” state. It gave me a healthy sense of skepticism, fine-tuning my Baloney Meter. I can’t sing, can’t dance, can’t sew, can’t juggle . . . but most of the time, I can spot a falsehood a mile away.
And through the many years I’ve been observing K-12 education, I’ve seen a peck of them, many of which are now at the boiling point in the LB 1024 / Omaha Public Schools breakup / Class I country schools annihilation controversies in Nebraska.
Education writer Jay P. Greene listed many of them in his great new book, “Education Myths: What Special-Interest Groups Want You to Believe About Our Schools – And Why It Isn’t So.” Here they are, from his table of contents, with the “myth” summarized in a one-liner, each of which Greene thoroughly demolishes in his book:
The Money Myth – Schools perform poorly because they need more money.
The Special Ed Myth – Special education programs burden public schools, hindering their academic performance.
The Myth of Helplessness – Social problems like poverty cause students to fail; schools are helpless to prevent it.
The Class Size Myth – Schools should reduce class sizes; small classes would produce big improvements.
The Certification Myth – Certified or more experienced teachers are substantially more effective.
The Teacher Pay Myth – Teachers are badly underpaid.
The Myth of Decline – Schools are performing much worse than they used to.
The Graduation Myth – Nearly all students graduate from high school.
The College Access Myth – Nonacademic barriers prevent a lot of minority students from attending college.
The High Stakes Myth – The results of high-stakes tests are not credible because they’re distorted by cheating and teaching to the test.
The Push-Out Myth – Exit exams cause more students to drop out of high school.
The Accountability Burden Myth – Accountability systems impose large financial burdens on schools.
The Inconclusive Research Myth – The evidence on the effectiveness of vouchers is mixed and inconclusive.
The Exeter Myth – Private schools have higher test scores because they have more money and recruit high-performing students while expelling low-performing students.
The Draining Myth – School choice harms public schools.
The Disabled Need Not Apply Myth – Private schools won’t service disabled students.
The Democratic Values Myth – Private schools are less effective at promoting tolerance and civic participation.
The Segregation Myth – Private schools are more facially segregated than public schools.
See how many of these are at play in Nebraska’s ongoing ed crises? I’ve harped on many of these myths in the few years I’ve had my Go Big Ed blog. But it’s made diddly squat worth of difference. But oh, well: at least I tried.
Last, but not least, I read this review of an education book by a really wonderful radio guy named Marlin Maddoux, published posthumously, which put some things in “macro” perspective for me and spurred me to give up on public ed:
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=50013
So that’s the way it is, from Mount Laundry. I’ll do those endorsements Friday, and then your inbox will only be padded with a Go Big Ed story once a week from now on.
Thanks for all those who’ve helped me and supported me. I really hope you’ll join me in building up private education in the Cornhusker State . . . and keeping our focus on what’s best for kids.
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Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Posted
10:01 AM
by Susan Darst Williams
YOU ARE, IF YOU DON'T LIKE SCHOOL CHOICE
Many of the elements of LB 1024, the new education bill in Nebraska that would split the Omaha Public Schools into three parts, and consolidate all metro-area districts into one revenue-sharing “learning community,” are strangely antithetical to free-market capitalism.
These changes are “statist” rather than “capitalist,” in the way they establish the state government as the boss of what goes on in local public schools, rather than the locals themselves. Basically, statists think they know better than you do, and that goes double for running the schools that shape your children.
This statist push in Nebraska is coming from an odd coalition of freeze-dried hippies with 1960s ideas about collectivism and relativism (Sen. Ron Raikes of Lincoln and Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha), and control-freak business and government officials who want our schools to crank out standardized children who’ve all had the same “inputs” so that they’ll be up-to-spec, well-fitted cogs for the wheels of the global workforce machine (Chamber of Commerce types and state and federal educrats).
“Statism” holds that a planned economy with centralized government services is the way to go. That’s what we’re seeing in Nebraska education right now. We got into it, bigtime, several years ago when we “caved” to state learning standards and corresponding assessments for our schools, and actually many years before that, when we moved away from local property taxes as the sole funding source for local public schools, and began to accept state and federal tax revenues as well.
To the extent that Nebraska’s public policies utterly reject the notion that parents should be free to choose, shape and supervise the schools they want for their own children – and our state is one of the worst in the nation in terms of educational freedom – then we already have a statist system.
LB 1024 would just make that worse, through the further centralization of decision-making power and control over revenue that is shifting to the “learning community” and away from local parents and teachers. It’s only a matter of time before we consolidate salary schedules, fringe benefits packages, and pension plans into one statewide “compensation system,” because it’ll be “equitable,” and of course, it’ll be calibrated to the most expensive level. It looks like all public education employees will be paid the same as state employees, because in effect, they’ll BE state employees.
It really doesn’t matter how smart and effective the school-board members are that you and I elect. They really are irrelevant – even the State Board of Ed, which has been maneuvered into obsolescence and, I predict, will be done away with in a few years.
The segmentation of OPS into three smaller districts is of no consequence, for all parents and teachers of all demographic groups and locations will still be forced to operate within the same “box” constructed of state learning standards, assessments, accreditation requirements, union rules, and teachers’ college paradigms.
Sen. Ernie Chambers’ flamboyance notwithstanding, the OPS trifecta is merely a bait and switch to make the liberals feel good about slipping into a fascist-type system that they otherwise would oppose. But what we will have is central planning of what’s now openly being called “pre-K to Grade 16 education.”
And with the state’s new data-collection system, it’s probable that actual state control over education, training and jobs is going to go ‘way beyond “Grade 16” . . . all the way to “Grade 50 and 60,” and that’s not all that facetious. They didn’t put a chronological age on the “learning” that will be governed by this “learning community,” now, did they?
Have you noticed how alternatives, ideas and proposals for school choice and privatization as the obvious solutions to this controversy are being thoroughly censored? The evidence is on the table, that state control of schools has ruined inner-city education for the neediest kids for whom education is the only real hope to get out of the ghetto. But nobody’s willing to face that fact, and get around it to a better way.
It’s not all that amazing. It’s because the “party line” is being pushed frantically, as this “opportunity” to embed the state as the superintendent of schools plays out. The stakes are high. The more you concentrate educational power and financial say-so, and the more you quash competition, the easier it is for you to indoctrinate a single point of view into what the little kiddies will be taught and how they will be shaped.
Ah, they say: public schools are crucial to democracy because they allow a wide range of philosophies and value systems to mix and mingle. That would be compelling, if it were true. What do we have in public schools today? Indoctrination – “my way or the highway” – left-wing political propaganda, special-interest group pressure, jailing dads if they don’t want their kids taught that homosexual marriage is great, and handcuffing little kindergartners if they draw a picture of Jesus.
The surest way to get real intellectual freedom for kids is to privatize schools to allow true diversity, individuality and open-mindedness to flourish . . . and we should have done it yesterday.
Failure to strengthen the private sector in education has created a funhouse mirror, financially, as well. We’ve all seen the school budgets rocket up into the stratosphere, while actual academic achievement has tanked or is so-so at best. Right now, we have the goofy situation of public-school teachers making higher salaries and enjoying much more expensive fringe benefits than private-school teachers. Can you think of another line of work in which the government employees make more than the private-sector ones?
That’s the end game of all of this – to keep it up – keep pumping out the money and power for the statists even though they’re turning out an inferior product at a much-higher cost, and search out, shrink and destroy the private-sector competition that might expose that.
C.S. Lewis called it “the dead hand of the great planners and conditioners” in his important and prophetic book on the future of education written ‘way back in 1944, The Abolition of Man.
Now, government is not all bad. Of course we need a little bit of government. But there’s a slippery slope and a snowballing effect when statism starts to roll. Things get bug-ugly. And that’s where I see this going. You can read more about the end results of statism on:
http://www.constitution.org/tyranny.htm
C.S. Lewis had it pegged:
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."
In fact, Lewis predicted the indoctrination and Political Correctness that many people believe are ruining public education today in his 1944 book, Abolition of Man.
Pour yourself a strong cup of caffeinated java – you’ll need it; this guy was a brainiac and he could WRITE! – and see how prophetic Lewis was:
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/augustine/arch/lewis/abolition3.htm
What are we to do about all this? Tune in tomorrow. There’s a way out!
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Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Posted
11:47 AM
by Susan Darst Williams
STARRING DEPRIVED STUDENTS
OUTSIDE OF PUBLIC-SCHOOL SETTINGS
As Nebraskans continue to wrangle with what to do to help disadvantaged students and those who don’t speak English, since most of them underachieve dramatically in our public schools, let’s take a look at some of the success stories going on for deprived kids in schools that have broken free of the public-education monopoly.
Recently, Go Big Ed described the “No Excuses” schools located by the Heritage Foundation a few years ago. All served low-income pupils, many from non-English speaking homes, but turned around the academic achievement in a manner that can only be described as amazing. Most were public schools. Go Big Ed also has reported on successful school-choice programs such as those in Milwaukee and Washington, D.C.
Here are some more good models from all over the world. There’s no reason Nebraska couldn’t have success stories like these, too, if we could overcome the fear of the unknown and branch out into school choice and privatization:
-- Westside Preparatory Academy, Chicago, Ill.
What we need are teachers with passion and a vision. Dissatisfied with the quality of education offered by both the Chicago Public Schools and the elite private school her two daughters attended, teacher Marva Collins started a school in her house in one of the poorest neighborhoods of that great city. Funding: her $5,000 teacher pension. She started with six pupils, including one labeled “learning disabled,” one labeled “problem child,” and another labeled “borderline retarded.” She used classical curriculum – great books and poetry, recitation, Shakespeare, sentence diagramming, board work for math, teaching reasoning by using the Socratic method, and so on. By the end of the school year, every one of those kids was reading at least five grade levels higher than when they started. Marva Collins graduates went on to Yale, Harvard and Stanford, and have become doctors, lawyers and engineers. Nebraskans might remember Creighton basketball player Kevin Ross, who went there to learn to read as an adult when 13 years of public schooling, and a college career, didn’t do it. Hellllllllllo!!!! For a glance at the excellent curriculum that has brought all this to fruition, see: http://www.marvacollinspreparatory.com/academics.html
-- Private Scholarships Exploding All Around Us
Nebraska is fortunate to have a local Omaha office of the Children’s Scholarship Fund here. Donors receive a partial tax credit for donating money to the fund, which is then distributed to needy families as partial K-12 private-school scholarships. This tuition assistance is crucial for low-income parents who prefer private education but can’t afford it. Similar “opportunity scholarship” programs are growing all over the place. Here’s what’s happening in Utah, where 375 low-income children are going to get scholarships of up to $1,800 a year, about half the cost of a good private school’s tuition:
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,635183846,00.html
-- Catholic Schools Do a Better Job for Poor Kids Than Public Schools
This article’s almost 10 years old, but it contains eye-opening stats that could have really helped Omaha avoid the current situation years ago. Instead of hoping that the same public schools that had failed the low-income population for decades could miraculously turn around with more funding, we should have turned to a proven solution – traditional teaching, traditional curriculum, faith-based character development, order and discipline -- instead of spending hundreds of millions on what doesn’t work – fancier buildings, more complicated curriculum and so forth. The Catholic schools use the time-tested KISS method which somehow escapes the union- and educrat-dominated public schools: Keep It Simple, Silly:
http://new.heritage.org/Research/UrbanIssues/BG1128.cfm
-- Two-Thirds of Poor Parents Want Private Schools
It’s a sad commentary on the relative lack of political power of low-income parents in Nebraska when you note that a full two-thirds of low-income parents say they would choose private schools for their children rather than public schools, if they could afford them. Studies of why parents choose private education show that regardless of their demographic situation, they perceive private schools as offering higher quality for their children. It has nothing to do with race. This means Omaha’s low-income parents are being ignored and their wishes minimized. If the Omaha Public Schools would adopt a modest school-choice program for its pupils whose families are judged to be below the poverty line based on eligibility for full or partial lunch subsidies, we could avoid all the hateful talk about racism and segregation and discrimination – and give poor parents what most of them want in the first place. See:
http://www.educationnext.org/unabridged/2001sp/moe.html
-- Schools for Rural Poor Run By the Daughters of the American Revolution
Now why in the heck can’t private, nonprofit organizations in Nebraska start and support small, specialty schools like these? What a great solution for the “boat people” whose Class I country schools were bombed out of existence by the Unicam. With help and funding from civic organizations, probably located in Omaha and Lincoln, they could follow this model and keep their small, high-quality schools afloat. Who could we turn to, to make this happen? Can anybody say “Junior League” or “Assistance League” or “PEO” or sorority alumnae groups. . . .
http://www.vci.net/~paddar/darschools/schools.html
-- Private Schools for the Poor in Third World Countries
Private, nonprofit organizations are helping to start up and operate private schools for the poorest of the poor in basket-case countries, and guess what? The kids are poorer than those in the local government schools, but are out-performing their more advantaged peers. This has obvious implications for American inner cities. Isn’t it embarrassing that other countries are doing a better job for their poor kids than we are? See:
http://www.educationnext.org/20054/22.html
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Monday, May 01, 2006
Posted
10:56 AM
by Susan Darst Williams
THE ONLY REAL EQUITY
COMES FROM SCHOOL CHOICE
Most people think the heart of the hubbub over Nebraska’s twin school controversies has to do with money.
You know: we can move more money toward poor kids, whose schools really need it, with the breakup of the Omaha Public Schools in the context of a metro-wide “learning community.” And we can save money with the forced closing of more than 200 country K-6 schools in the rural parts of the state, making those parents drive quite a few miles to and from schools in the closest cities and towns, and driving yet another stake into the heart of the local rural economy.
The problem is, both of those are based on false premises. The truth is, more spending and more consolidation of power does NOT produce better learning achievement. We’ve known that for years.
The battle cry of “equity” is cynically being used by those who just want more revenue into more tightly-controlled schools – the unions, the educrats, the politicians who want to look good on paper – while in reality, the only thing that will make schooling “equitable” is parental choice in education.
We need to follow “The Hamburger Rule.” And that is: some people would be very happy with a hamburger they make for themselves at home for a cost of, oh, 50 cents for a sweet little hand-shaped patty of two or three ounces of meat, a soft, small bun, one small, flat pickle, and a blob of ketchup. It’s nourishing, it’s tasty and it hits the spot.
But other people would only be happy if they got the mega-burger at Cheeburger Cheeburger, which has 20 ounces of meat on a gigantic bun, with 20 free toppings and eight different cheeses, for $9.99. It also is nourishing, tasty and hits the (presumably much larger) spot.
To each his own! There’s a whole, big, wide spectrum of choice in hamburgers everywhere in this state. You’ve got the homemade kind, the fancy-schmancy ones in the country clubs, the rubberized ones in the vending machines at the office, mouth-watering ones grilled before your eyes, and on and on and on the diversity goes.
That’s the POINT. Everybody is happy, and everybody gets to choose.
Yes, some cost more and some cost less. But everybody is happy with their choice, and over the long run, in a free market, you tend to be better off, more satisfied, and lots less likely to pick up a placard and protest for “equity.”
So how come if we’re smart enough to give people free choice in hamburgers, we can’t figure out that what they need in the most important public-service of all, their children’s education, is also free choice?
The people trying to convince you that the only way to get “equity” in our schools is to break up OPS, establish the “learning community” and kill the Class I schools are dead meat, if people would just stop and think. Parental choice in education – home, public, private, co-op, Internet, and all the combinations thereof – that should be the main course right now.
Today’s “Show ‘n’ Tell for Parents” column tells you more about the philosophy behind the OPS push for “equity.” They brought Mr. Kozol to Omaha for a speech; wonder whether they let him CHOOSE where to have lunch, or made him go to the school cafeteria for a Mystery Meat Burger?
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The Lie of ‘Inequitable School Funding’
Q. How come Jonathan Kozol was listed in a recent book as one of the 100 Americans who are wrecking this country? I thought his work exposing the problems of inner-city schools has been extremely helpful to improving the educational outcomes of inner-city children. Not so?
You’re referring to the longtime education author and activist whose 1990s book, “Savage Inequalities,” inspired a barrage of equity lawsuits by public school districts against states.
Districts with a disproportionate share of low-income pupils have sought, and often won, larger amounts of tax dollars for education than middle-class schools receive. Billions in extra federal and state tax dollars have been poured into inner-city schools since the 1960s because of the claim that disadvantaged kids were being discriminated against by school financing systems that reward the rich.
Of course, that ignores the overwhelming evidence by educational economists such as Caroline Hoxby of Harvard and Eric Hanushek of the University of Rochester, now Stanford. The evidence shows that racial and class disparities in academic achievement are caused by factors other than money.
When children aren’t getting the basic skills but can’t escape the monopoly schools, the politicized rules of the teachers’ unions, and the erroneous but widespread leftist philosophies of the teachers’ colleges influenced by progressive icons such as Jonathan Kozol, you can spend double or triple the amount of money per child, and they still won’t do as well.
Most everyone outside the education establishment agrees that it’s not the amount of funding that is causing the disparities in academic achievement between black and white, rich and poor – but the abandonment of the teaching of basic skills in inner-city schools by leftist educators who think schools are for social change, not instructing children in the 3 R’s.
Kozol’s book “On Being a Teacher,” which is popular in ed schools, was based on his study of the school system in communist Cuba. Those schools teach the “deconstruction” of knowledge and skills that is used in communist propaganda. These radically anti-intellectual and anti-individualistic ideas have infiltrated U.S. schools today. They appear in the form of whole language and whole math instead of direct instruction in basic reading and math skills, the coronation of group projects and “cooperation” and an abhorrence of competition, and an insistence on “academic leveling” in which no child can excel and no child can fall behind.
That’s educational Marxism, but few educators realize it. The parents who “get it” are increasingly moving their children to private schools and homeschools.
Kozol was ranked ninth in the book “100 Americans Who are Screwing Up America” by former CBS News correspondent Bernard Goldberg (Medium Cool Communications, 2005).
Ironically, Kozol’s 1967 book, “Death at an Early Age,” which implied that there was widespread institutional racism in urban schools, was a key instigator of court-ordered busing. Busing wound up making urban schools much more segregated, and academically and financially shakier, than they were before.
Homework: Writer Sol Stern gives an in-depth look at Kozol’s impact on:
http://www.city-journal.org/html/10_1_americas_most.html
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