Happy New Year. I predict that 2007 will be an interesting year in education policy. We seem to have a national sense of urgency, which could drive at least the start of some big changes. There are three areas where I think we will see a lot of action:
Reauthorization of No Child Left Behind: NCLB, originally sponsored by Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Judd Gregg (R-NH) in the Senate, and George Miller (D-CA) and John Boehner (R-OH) in the House, was passed in 2001 with overwhelming bipartisan support. (The vote was 87-10 in the Senate; 381-41 in the House). NCLB is up for re-authorization this year. Here are some of the recommendations for improvements, representing a variety of ideas and perspectives:
From Mayor Bloomberg and Florida Governor Jeb Bush:
http://www.nyc.gov/portal/site/nycgov/menuitem.c0935b9a57bb4ef3daf2f1c701c789a0/index.jsp?pageID=mayor_press_release&catID=1194&doc_name=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nyc.gov%2Fhtml%2Fom%2Fhtml%2F2006b%2Fpr419-06.html&cc=unused1978&rc=1194&ndi=1
From the American Federation of Teachers (the national organization of which the UFT is an affiliate):
K:\Pool\Leigh's Weekly Reader\AFTNCLBrecs[1].pdf
From Michael Petrilli of the Fordham Foundation:
http://www.edexcellence.net/foundation/gadfly/index.cfm#3177
From the National School Boards’ Association, the Childrens’ Legal Defense Fund and 99 other signers:
K:\Pool\Leigh's Weekly Reader\NCLBreauthNSBA.doc
Teacher compensation – A number of states and jurisdictions are experimenting with approaches to teacher compensation that go beyond the traditional lock-step compensation system based on experience and education credits. Last year, the US Department of Education announced a $400-plus million grant program to fund grants for innovative teacher compensation programs. These grants are fueling a lot of experimentation. The Consortium for Policy Research, based in the University of Wisconsin, has done a series of case studies of alternative compensation systems, including state-based systems in Kentucky, North Carolina, Arizona and Iowa, and district-based systems in Boston, Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Cincinnati, Philadelphia and Dallas. You can access the studies here:
http://www.wcer.wisc.edu/cpre/tcomp/research/sbpa/studies.php
As the results of all these experiments become more apparent, we are likely to hear more and more about the pros and cons of changing the traditional system.
Finally, closer to home, New York City Schools’ funding—The Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit has finally come to a conclusion in the courts. The legislature and Governor Spitzer now have the ball. We’ll see what happens.
Next week, a short explanation of where the money comes from for NYC schools.