Tag Archives: education

20 June 2011

January Regents a Thing of the Past

By Nicki

Back during the making of the New York State budget, the Board of Regents requested $15 million dollars to develop and administer NYS Regents.  A regents is a test that is given in high school, statewide, at the same time and day everywhere in the state.  These tests include a Global History regents (given at the end of 10th grade after two years of global history), US History (given at the end of 11th grade), English (this has been a variety of tests over the years but always at the end of 11th grade), various maths and sciences.  NY is one of the only states that gives these tests in so many subjects and, until last month, offered the exams three times a year – January, June and August.

 

The budget request for $15 million did not fall on deaf ears but did fall somewhere as NY is in a huge fiscal crisis.  The Regents received $7 million.  As a means of saving $1.4 million, the Board of Regents decided to stop offering January exams.  An additional $700,000 savings will come from totally removing foreign languages from the Regents.  The Regents only offered a third year exam in Spanish, French and Italian at this point in time and the last of these will be given this month.

 

Do I think this move will effect me, or my family, personally?  No.  I have one high school student left, out of six children.  He took his English and US History Regents last week and will take a Chemistry Regents on Wednesday.  He should pass all of these.  Truthfully, he need only pass the English and US History to graduate high school.  He has already passed two other science Regents in previous years: Earth Science and Living Environment.

 

Will this move effect other high school students in the state?  Definitely!  Many years back when the first major change was made to the English Regents – the exam went from a one sitting of three hours maximum to a two sitting of six hours maximum, many school districts were fearful of the pass rate in June.  Consequently, the districts opted to give the English Regents to 11th graders in January.  Those who did not pass – and they needed to pass with at least a 65 to graduate – had four more chances to take the test before actual graduation.  Once the test was a known commodity, additional districts opted to give the English Regents in January as 11th grade also includes the US History Regents, possibly a 3rd year foreign language Regents, possibly a math Regents, and possibly a science Regents.  In addition to these Regents tests, many 11th graders are also taking Advanced Placement tests just prior to end of year testing.

 

Many people believe that eliminating the January testing dates will put too much pressure on students who MUST pass the exam to graduate.  Many large city schools also feel that their at-risk populations will have trouble with two less chances to pass required-for-graduation tests.

 

My personal thoughts are this is going to hurt those who are most at-risk for not finishing high school.  Those who are AP (Advanced Placement) or IB (International Baccalaureate) students will manage their stress and take the Regents when they are offered.  Might it have been easier to have a January option?  Undoubtedly.  Is it a necessity?  Definitely not.

 

If you live in NY, what are your thoughts?  If you do not live in NY, what does your state require, as far as testing, for graduation from high school?  I will write my thoughts about the abolishing of foreign language testing at a future date.

 

Please realize these thoughts are mine and mine alone.  They do not reflect the feelings of the school district my child attends and of which I am a member of the board of education.

1 comment   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Just my Thoughts, Politics

17 June 2011

Education Funding

By Nicki

Please realize these thoughts are mine and mine alone.  They do not reflect the feelings of the school district my child attends and of which I am a member of the board of education.

 

Friday morning a group of unsuspecting folks on Twitter were discussing educational reform. I think this is fantastic as I find the subject nearly impossible to discuss in a blog post, let alone in 140 characters. Worse than the whole character limitation was the fact that the original link that was shared was followed by a comment that sharing such on Facebook would garner all kinds of attacks.

The public education system is broken. This is the start of the conversation: not what is broken or how but that the system is broken.  It is not broken to the same extent in all locations but it is broken, none the less. There are many reason for this state of broken-ness. It can come from many reasons. Funding reasons are the biggest one, at least in New York State.

New York State funds differing school districts in differing amounts. State funding comes from state taxes. Local funding comes from property taxes. So basically public education is funded by the taxes of the people of the state. The biggest issue in NY is that school district budgets are close to the only way for voters to express any amount of dissatisfaction with government. Town and municipal budgets do not get voted on by the taxpayer. Votes are for school budgets and for elected officials. Consequently, school budgets seem to get the brunt of voter dissatisfaction.

This funding method has caused some great divides between wealthy and not so wealthy districts within NYS. Places in the state where businesses are booming, granted at this point in time no part of the state has a fantastic economy, there is a tax base to fund schools – academic programs, athletic programs, teachers, aides, monitors. Places in the state where the economy is closer to stagnant, there is not a tax base to fund schools. As municipalities look to offer incentives for businesses to locate in that municipality, school districts are not sure if I want to use this portion

Many people think that because local funding comes from property taxes that only local property owners should be allowed to vote. The fallacy in this is that most property owners figure their property taxes into what they charge for rental units. In addition to this, renters are eligible, by state law, to be members of boards of education. Consequently, thinking that renters should not be allowed to vote on school budgets, and by association on tax levies, is flawed.

Funding is definitely an issue in the mess that is public education in NYS. Another issue is laws that require the last hired to be the first let go in times of layoffs. This issue has caused some heated discussions in all circles as school districts statewide notified teachers of the possibility of layoffs this spring. In a small two county area in upstate NY, over 400 positions were lost from school districts this year. The impact will begin to be felt as these people vie for the few jobs that are available in the fall. The impact will be felt as these families have less income and are not frequenting restaurants and stores in the area. To top that off is the fact that this is a small area. Most larger city areas incurred much larger layoffs.

Let’s look at options. None of these options are totally thought through yet but all have some sense of viability. First there is the last in, first out process. Teachers should not have guaranteed employment just because they are teachers. Tenure is a bad thing. It guarantees lackadaisical behavior on the part of teachers. In addition, tenure is granted after a short period of time in most cases. Tenure needs to be granted after five years in one district at the least. Tenure also needs to be renewable. In other words, there is no “job for life” guarantee that most teachers feel they have once they have received tenure. Please realize this discussion is a generalization and not all teachers are like this.

Another option is to change the funding formula. In NYS, the current governor, Andrew M Cuomo, is trying to do just that. The governor is proposing a tax cap – this is a cap of the tax levy, not the actual tax rate of a property – at 2% or the rate of inflation, which ever is lower. Had this law, the way it was originally written, been in place for the 2011 budget vote, school districts across NYS would have had to have a 0% tax levy increase, excepting previously voted on capitol projects. The only way to get around this lack of an increase would be a “super majority” vote or approval by more than 60% of the voters.

Can education be fixed? Can schools start at zero and work up from there, cutting items that are not essential? Can schools figure out a way to educate our students without breaking the bank? This issue will go on for a long time as no school district can start with a zero and build a budget up as there are contractual obligations that must be fulfilled. So what is the answer?

Do I have the answer? No. I have thoughts that may or may not work in differing districts and communities around the county. What I do know is that the method has to change and change now. What I do know is the community must be involved in the solution. What I do know is that, regardless of what happens, there is absolutely no way to make everyone happy.

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28 January 2010

State of the Union

By Nicki

Last night I pulled parental rank.  I wanted to watch and listen and take notes on the State of the Union.  I asked that one of the two adult children living here at home pick up #6 from dress rehearsal.  He was to be done between 9:15 and 9:30 so prime speech time.

There was quite a bit of discussion between #1 and #3 but #3 stepped up as #1 fell asleep on the couch.  Thanks, Lei!!!

To start with, I panicked when CNN was saying the speech would run between 70 and 75 minutes with applause.  That is way past my bedtime.  If I want to watch something on television at 10 pm, I generally DVR it as I will never stay awake for the whole show.  Next, as I watch President Obama enter the joint session, I had the strangest thought.  I wanted to know where he had stuffed his hand sanitizer.  It cannot possibly be sanitary, especially in the middle of flu and cold season, to shake all those hands and not wash your hands or sanitize immediately.

The beginning and the end of the speech were pure Obama – lofty words from a great orator.  The president started the speech with history on the State of the Union speech itself.  This bit ended with  him saying, and I am paraphrasing, we are “again tested and must answer history’s call.”

President Obama also noted that the worst of the economic storm has passed but the devastation remains.  He punctuated this point with stories of people across the United States.

Probably the most annoying part of watching the speech was having Vice President Joe Biden in the camera’s view the entire time.  He was not quite as quick to jump up in applause as Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi but seemed to sit and nod in agreement continually.

President Obama noted that we all hated the bank bailout, himself included.  Most of the money has been recovered.  To recover the remaining, he is proposing a fee on the biggest banks.  Hopefully, along with the Huffington Post Move Your Money grassroots effort, this does not cause these large institutions more misery.  Actually, I think a bit of misery in the large banking institutions – not misery like closings but more a thought-provoking misery – would be a good thing.

President Obama declared jobs the number one focus in 2010.  The true engine for job creation is America’s businesses.  Obama also introduced some new small business tax credits – for creating new jobs, for raising wages.  The House has passed a bill already and Obama urged the Senate to do the same.

The speech itself would lend to a very long post.  I am going to do, over the next few days, several on different areas of the speech.  I will close with some of my overview thoughts.

There was a lot of eight year bashing in this speech.  President Obama did not mention former President George W Bush but mentioned those previous eight years.  This truly put looks of consternation on the faces of GOP faithful in the chamber.  I, the registered Democrat who tends to vote Independent, was annoyed by it as I figure we all know what has happened in the past administration.  I really don’t need it pointed out to me.  I want to know what is going to be done to fix the issues that were created then, not who created them.  And while a person can blame the president, a good majority of those congressional representatives and senators were there helping with the creation of the last eight years – on both sides of the aisle.

25 comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Just my Thoughts, Politics

14 January 2010

Kindergarten Conundrum

By Nicki

As usual, I was surfing the web and reading some of the major newspapers of the country.  I like knowing what is going on in the New York Times and The Washington Post as well as several others that are in the Midwest and the West.  Sometimes I miss something but, in that case, a friend generally points it out to me before the end of the day.

As I was perusing the education blog on The Washington Post, I came across a piece on full versus half day kindergarten.  I had to stop and read.  I truly did not think that half day kindergarten existed in the United States any longer.  I was sadly wrong.

My mind, upon reading the guest piece, is that the full vs. half day debate has certainly changed since I started fighting and debating it about 24 years ago.

Back when #1 was looking at kindergarten – I should probably say his father and I were looking at kindergarten, the majority of our public school districts in upstate New York offered a half day program.  This was fine but #1 had turned five in November so we had not sent him to kindergarten that year, even though he had turned five before the December 1 deadline.  He was in a preschool program that was full day and educational so he stayed there.

The next year rolled around and I found myself suddenly shopping for a full day kindergarten.  Full days away from home were what #1 was use to.  The preschool offered a full day kindergarten program but it was an open classroom.  I felt #1 needed more structure.  I found a Catholic school that had a program perfect for #1.  It was on the other side of the city but that was okay with me.

The twins had a January birthday.  There would be no extra year in preschool for them, even with #2′s speech issues.  The public school district we lived within the borders of still only had a half day kindergarten program.  I was still a firm believer in full day.  Since #1 had not left the Catholic school, #2 and #3 followed.  This nicest part was the community of the school – a faith-filled group of parents and teachers.  The other nice part was I didn’t have to fight with administrators about keeping the twins, at least for now, in the same class.

When the twins went to the Catholic school for kindergarten, #4 followed for preschool.  The cost of full day preschool/day care was becoming prohibitive and I had become a stay at home mom so it was not a necessity any longer.

Then, came the debate, during that year #4 was in preschool at the Catholic school.  The public school district was thinking about beginning a full day kindergarten.  The public was outraged.  What was the point?  Why was it necessary?

I went to Board of Education meetings.  I diligently typed out my comments.  While I do not dislike speaking in public, I like to leave those making the decision a written copy and I hate forgetting pieces.  I went into why it was time, in 1991-92, to change.

Our school system was set up when the US was an agrarian society.  School days were when they were so that children could get up in the morning and milk the cows before going to school.  Some still do.  The end of school day, with the exception of winter, left time for chores also.  Having time off during the summer gave the farmer his family to help with harvesting.  This is not the world we had in 1992 or in 2010.

The Board of Education decided to start full day kindergarten with the school year 1992-93 and it was, and still is, successful.

Unfortunately, in 1994, we moved out of the city and into a smaller school district, a school district that did not have full day kindergarten.  I went through the entire process again.  I attended Board of Education meetings when the topic came up.  I presented experiences and statistics and history.  Again, the Board went with a full day kindergarten.

So, to see that the full day versus half day debate is still ongoing drives me crazy.  To see that, at least in the case of Fairfax County, there are both full day and half day options and that the full day goes to those who are starting at a disadvantage floors me.

Did you attend a full day or a half day kindergarten program?  What about your children?  What do you think is better?

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2 June 2009

Teaching to the Test

By Nicki

There has always been debate within many communities that linking teacher pay to student assessments – generally speaking, standardized tests – is a flawed assessment for the teacher.  I am beginning to truly believe this to be the case.

NYS recently released state math assessment scores for grades 3-8.  While NYS implemented statewide assessments in certain grades prior to NCLB, the testing every year is a result of NCLB.  Local education reporter George Basler discussed the most recent results with Dawn Shannon, assistant superintendent for educational support and technology at Broome-Tioga BOCES.

My concerns come when Shannon says “// schools have modified curricula and instruction and “drilled deeper” into data to analyze areas where students need improvement.”  To me, this statement means that schools have modified curricula to meet what the test.  This is basically a fancy way of saying we “teach to the test.”

So as to not think that this is just in younger grades, let me tell you about a high school situation.  My son is a freshman in high school here locally.  High school math is again undergoing a massive state revamp.  When I went to high school – eons ago, I swear, since my 30th reunion is this summer, math was algebra, geometry, trigonometry and pre-calculus or calculus.  Suddenly, as my oldest began high school, math was Math I, Math II, Math III, Math IV and local or AP calculus after that.  Somewhere around 2000, State Ed decided Math A and Math B would be implemented.  The problems with Math A and B were that the curriculum for the courses was too long for one school year.  So, lo and behold, NYS is going back  to algebra, geometry, trigonometry.

My 14 year old took integrated algebra last year and a Regents exam in such.  This year, in ninth grade, he has taken geometry.  One would logically think that he would take the geometry regents exam on June 16th.  No.  In the infinite wisdom of my school district – or of its high school math department, this is the first year of the geometry regents.  Historically, first year regents as math has changed are horribly difficult and not a fair measure of the student’s knowledge.  So, my son will take a local final this year as opposed to the geometry regents.  One reason that I am sure played into this decision is that there are no regents to see how the test will be.  Consequently, no one can teach to the test but has to teach the subject matter.

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10 March 2009

Obama Speech on Education

By Nicki

While I have many times criticized speeches made on education by former President George W Bush, I have some inherent criticisms on the huge educational speech that President Obama gave this morning also.  While Obama’s speech was delivered much better than any of Bush’s speeches on this subject, I am still digging through for actual details.

 

I worry that, regardless of how many previous presidents have handled multiple policy areas, Obama and his still not complete administration are biting off more than they can chew.

I know there are some who believe we can only handle one challenge at a time. They forget that Lincoln helped lay down the transcontinental railroad, passed the Homestead Act, and created the National Academy of Sciences in the midst of Civil War. Likewise, President Roosevelt didn’t have the luxury of choosing between ending a depression and fighting a war. President Kennedy didn’t have the luxury of choosing between civil rights and sending us to the moon. And we don’t have the luxury of choosing between getting our economy moving now and rebuilding it over the long term.

 

I do believe that we can handle more than one front in the policy area but what I am seeing is multiple fronts with no detail.  Nothing in the four pillars for eduational reform that were laid out in the president’s speech today gave details as to how these areas would be accomplished.  ”Challenging states” to put more emphasis on early childhood education is a good challenge but holds no measurable method of finding accomplishment.

 

He (Obama) proposed to four pillars of reform:
 
1) “Investing in early childhood initiatives” like Head Start;
 
2) “Encouraging better standards and assessments” by focusing on testing itineraries that better fit our kids and the world they live in;
 
3) “Recruiting, preparing, and rewarding outstanding teachers” by giving incentives for a new generation of teachers and for new levels of excellence from all of our teachers.
 
4) “Promoting innovation and excellence in America’s schools” by supporting charter schools, reforming the school calendar and the structure of the school day.
Investing, encouraging, recruiting, preparing, rewarding and promoting are all wonderful words and great rhetoric.  Yet, I did not hear a word regarding how additional support for Head Start would be funded nor if it would be across the board in all states or only in those who currently lag behind in early childhood eduation.
 
Better standards and assessments for the world our children/students live in is a goal that I think should be achieved.  My concern is how to achieve it and keep a level playing board.  If standards and assessments are changed to better fit the world of the Hispanic American – the audience of the educational speech, will those standards and assessments be fair to the African American or the American who has no particular ethnic heritage?  How do you “legislate” family life so all children have the same background so that common assessments are achievable?
 
While I believe that teachers should be paid more comparable salaries to their counterparts in the “real” world, corporate America outside of academia, where does this compensation come from?  The taxpayers in NYS cannot sustain what teachers currently make, let alone if teacher pay were to raise dramatically.  I also harbor some concerns in regards to payment according excellence.  In Houston, a school district mentioned in President Obama’s speech today, pay for results has resulted in students knowing less, has resulted in teaching to the test, and has ultimately resulted in less critical thinking and logic skills being taught.
 
In speaking of a change in the school year, President Obama needs to recognized the agrarian schedule is still needed in some parts of the country.  We cannot, in boosting education, cut the legs out from under the family farm that needs a school day that allows older children to come home and work on that farm.  We cannot sacrifice the sports or other extra-curriculars that provide the incentive needed to get some students in the door of a school to learn to a longer school day that will alienate students.
 
While education is a policy area that the Obama administration needs to focus on, I suggest more detailed focus.  If now is not the time for this detail, then leave education out of the picture until there is time to work on details.

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3 January 2009

It’s A New Year…

By Nicki

… it’s another milestone.

I just made reservations in Niagara Falls for Graduation Weekend at Niagara University.  Granted this is not my first child to graduate from college.  This is the first of my six who has indicated any preference about walking in commencement.

Elise will graduate May 17th, 2009 with a degree in English and elementary education.  If any of you out there that read this know of teacher openings for the fall of 2009, let me know.

I will be heading to Niagara on May 15th.  That evening we will have a little party for Elise at her apartment which she swears is not on campus – but it really is.  Saturday is the Baccalaureate Mass and then a gala at the Castellani Art Museum on campus.  Sunday is the undergraduate graduation ceremony at UB’s Alumni Arena.

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2 December 2008

Advertising on High School Tests

By Nicki

I was truly amazed by the article that appeared in USA Today on December 1st – “Ads on tests add up for teacher.”  Now, don’t get me wrong.  I think it is outrageous the amount of money that teachers spend out of pocket for what should be standard supplies for their classrooms.  Those teachers who also happen to get a stipend for advising extra-curricular groups spend a good portion of the stipend on supplies and items for the group.

I am not sure that I am totally opposed to advertising in schools.  If you think about it, your child’s high school probably has a soda machine or water machine in it.  These are basically advertising for the particular product as there is seldom more than one brand in a school.  As a matter of fact, I recall reading about a Coke sponsorship for a school some years back.  The payoff for having only Coke products in the school’s vending machines was money for the school.

In the particular article in question, I understand the need for testing.  An Advanced Placement calculus class is a very difficult class.  Testing to prepare students for what they will face in May on the AP test is definitely necessary.  It is also a very page intensive subject. 

Second, the advertising is not too blatant, at least not from what is shown in the USA Today article.  The article also states that a good deal of the advertising is inspirational sayings underwritten by parents of students.  This is a triple whammy for the parents.  They pay taxes.  They will pay a fee – last time I had to write a check for an AP test it was $84 – for their child to take the AP test.  Then, they are paying for advertising on tests. 

I applaud the businesses that have taken part.  I sometimes think that we raise our children in a cocoon.  They are going to be bombarded by advertising – starting with college mailings in their junior year of high school.  If we, as parents, or the schools, as educators, do not teach our children how to deal with advertising, what are they going to do?  Live a life in debt because they will always “want” more and more, though not necessarily be able to afford it.

I believe the teacher in this particular case is doing what is necessary to keep the course on the level needed.  The advertising is helping with this and allowing the teacher to spend his money on his family or on other necessities in his classroom.

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14 October 2008

What do you want?

By Nicki

I am going to try a new tactic.  I am looking to figure out what I want to hear from the two candidates in tomorrow night’s final presidential debate.  The topic is domestic policy but I have to tell you all right up front – I am sick of hearing about the economy.  I live in the economy.  I don’t fly all over on other people’s money – yes, campaign contributions pay for those planes and flights so it is someone else’s dime.  I don’t make the salary of a US Senator but hardly ever go to work. 

I want to hear about the candidates’ other domestic policies. 

I want to hear both candidates espouse their views on education – starting with the current No Child Left Behind.  I want to hear both opinions on what can be done to fix NCLB and what new items should be looked at for education in the US to prosper.  I have looked at both candidates’ websites and do not find any specifics listed in this area.  I want to know where the money for all these educational initiatives is going to come from in our new economy. 

I want to know why the Obama/Biden ticket has called for “a bold goal to increase students taking AP or college-level classes nationwide 50 percent by 2016.”  I find that this goal is not a necessity.  It is, in some cases, a waste of parental money when the student gets to college even.  I also don’t believe you can push students to leave their high school days behind by law.   

I want to know why the McCain/Palin ticket feels that parents should be able to choose where their children go to school.  What is wrong with being in school with those you live near?  Isn’t developing a sense of community as important as education?  And, when a particular “popular” school becomes overwhelmed with those who want “in,” is either McCain or Palin going to referee the fight by parents to be sure their child is on the list?  Do not laugh.  These things will happen in this particular type of a system.

I want to hear about Homeland Security.  I want to know what steps are going to be taken to make sure that our homeland isn’t attacked again.  As at least one candidate has said, “they” are watching us.  I blogged about the similarities of pre-2001 attacks on Americans abroad last month and then the biggest attack on our homeland since Pearl Harbor and current situations.  This is a huge issue for me as both an American and a parent.  I want to know that this country will be safe under either administration.  I realize that homeland security is a tricky business.  You cannot just put a whole plan on the internet for all to see.  I would, though, like to be assured that both candidates realize this is still a huge issue that is basically being ignored.

I want to hear about immigration.  One of my oldest daughter’s best friends at college has recently become a border patrol member.  I know that the training he has undergone is intensive – without details – and he has worked hard to work for his country.  I want to know where both candidates stand on immigration.  What are they going to do about our northern and southern borders?  What are they going to do about the 12 million illegal immigrants already in our country?  I know there is no perfect answer to these questions but I want to hear the candidates talking about them anyway and with specifics.

The debate is only an hour and a half but there are other issues I would love to cram into it.  I want to hear plans on energy with specific details.  I want to hear what each plans to do about poverty here – and, what we should have heard about in another debate, abroad.  I want to hear agriculture and the judicial appointments that will most surely come in the first term of this new administration.  I seriously want to hear about everything that has to do with our country but the economy.

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12 August 2008

Matchmaking in the 21st Century

By Nicki

I realize that there are television shows that show real live matchmakers that are working in the 21st century.  Unfortunately, most of us are not independently wealthy and cannot afford that cost with today’s ever higher spirally cost of living.

I resorted – guess I definitely need an attitude adjustment, eh? – to online personal sites.  I am not into answering a million questions so that the site can find my “perfect” match.  I want to post how I see myself – the drawback in this is that we do not always see ourselves as others see us – and let others respond to that image. 

I have a profile on two different online sites.  I also meet plenty of people through my job and through my friends.  But the question always comes around to how do you screen those you may or may not want to meet. 

At first, I thought age was a good determinent (is that even a word?).  I have a range that is my “ideal.”  Do we hold fast to our ideals?  If my age range is 37-50, do I respond to the 33 year old?  To the 59 year old?  If my ideal involves an educated man, do I respond the “some college” guy or the “high school” educated guy?

Do our preconceived ideas prevent us from finding happiness and meeting the right person?

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