The mission of the Ohio Fair Schools Campaign is to organize and advocate for high quality public education opportunities for all Ohio children wherever they live, whatever their race and whatever their family background.
To:      LWVO
From:      Joan Platz
Education Update for September 3, 2007

Back to School Statistics

An estimated 49.6 million students are projected to be enrolled in grades K-12 this fall in the United States, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau's Back to School Fact Sheet.   Other interesting back to school statistics follow:

*$489.4 billion is projected to be spent on elementary and secondary schools in 2007-2008.
*$9,969 is the projected average expenditure per pupil in 2007-2008.
*887,000 students are projected to be enrolled in charter schools this year in the U.S.
*6.1 million students are projected to be enrolled in private schools.
*42 percent of students in grades K-12 are minorities, as of October 2005.
*10.5 million students between the ages of five and seventeen speak a language other than English at home.  Most of them, 7.5 million, speak Spanish.
*21 percent of high school students had jobs while they were in high school in 2005.
*1.1 million students are home schooled in 2003 (2 percent of students 5 to 17).
*18 million students are projected to be enrolled in the nation's colleges and universities this fall.

For more Back to School Facts please visit http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/010218.html and http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id+372.

1) 127th Ohio General Assembly: 
Ohio House and Senate leaders announced last week that the House will hold sessions on September 11 & 12, 2007, and the Senate will meet on September 11, 2007.

Senator Patricia Clancy recently announced that she will resign from her seat in the Ohio Senate (8th Ohio Senate District) in early October to accept a position as assistance chief probation office for the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas.  The Senate Republican Caucus is now accepting nominations for candidates to complete Senator Clancy's term.

2) Comments Due on NCLB Draft by September 5, 2007: 
The U.S. House Education and Labor Committee, Representative George Miller (D-California) chair, released on August 28, 2007 draft recommendations for the reauthorization of Title 1 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, also known as the No Child Left Behind Act.  The draft represents the recommendations gathered from dozens of hearings over the past year, and responses from over 100 organizations.  The committee is seeking comments by September 5, 2007 regarding the recommendations.

Overall the draft recommendations include a variety of changes in the current law that would lessen some requirements and penalties, and provide school districts (and schools) with more flexibility to meet the accountability requirements.  Specifically, under Title 1 Part A there are recommendations that require states to set a minimum subgroup size of 30 for reporting and accountability purposes; require school districts to develop plans to assist students who are at risk of dropping out of school; create priority schools and high priority schools to receive assistance; and extend the deadline for meeting proficiency goals in reading and math beyond the 2013-14 school year, if all racial and demographic subgroups are on track for eventual mastery.  Also, states may be able to use multiple indicators/assessments for accountability purposes.  For example, states may factor in graduation rates, dropout rates, college attendance, percentage of students completing end of course exams, etc. into the calculation for adequate yearly progress.  In addition, a new fund is recommended, the Graduation Promise Fund, which will focus resources on ways to help keep students in schools, starting in middle school.

Legislation that includes these recommendations may be introduced over the next few months.  To view a summary of the recommendations and the 400 plus page draft visit, please visit http://edlabor.house.gov/.

The following includes some of the draft recommendations proposed for the reauthorization of the Title 1 Elementary and Secondary Education Act:

Title I - Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged

-Title I, Part A - Disadvantaged Children Meet High Academic Standards.  This is the largest program in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and authorizes federal aid to State and local educational agencies for helping educationally disadvantaged children achieve the same high State academic achievement standards as other students.  Most of the recommended changes to the legislation are included in this section under the topics of Graduation Promise; College and Work-Ready Standards and Assessments; Multiple Indicators/Assessments; Growth Models; Performance Index; N Size and Confidence Intervals; English Language Learners; Students with Disabilities; Peer Review; Report Cards; Other Elements of the State Plan; Comparing State Standards; Local Educational Agency Plans; School Improvement Assistance and School Redesign; Parental Involvement; Qualifications for Teachers and Paraprofessionals; Closing Comparability Loopholes; Graduation Rates, and more.

-Title I, Part B - Student Reading and Literacy Skills Improvement Grants.  Includes literacy programs, including Reading First, Early Reading First, and Even Start Family Literacy Programs. The text for this section is not included in the draft legislation, but is expected to be ready soon.

-Title I, Part C - Migrant Education.  Provides academic assistance for children of migrant workers.

-Title I, Part D - Prevention and Intervention Programs for Children and Youth Who Are Neglected, Delinquent, or At-Risk.  Provides formula grants to States to serve neglected and delinquent youth in institutions, community day programs, and correctional facilities.

-Title I, Part E - National Assessment of Title I.  Authorizes the Secretary of Education to conduct an evaluation of Title I programs and activities, and report findings to Congress.  It also requires the Secretary to conduct a longitudinal study of schools receiving assistance under Title I.  The discussion draft also requires the National Academies of Sciences to conduct a study to identify an appropriate instrument to accurately measure the closing of achievement gaps among various racial and ethnic groups.

-Title I, Part F - Comprehensive School Reform.  Authorizes the Comprehensive School Reform program, which is designed to assist schools in improving the quality of the entire school based upon reliable research and effective practices.  Includes the next generation of comprehensive school reform based on Chicago's school reform model.

-Title I, Part G - Advanced Placement.  Authorizes the Advanced Placement program to increase access to advanced placement tests, improve Advanced Placement programs, increase student academic achievement, and increase the number of individuals who achieve a baccalaureate or advanced degree.  This section was rewritten to be consistent with the AP-IB language in the America COMPETES Act.  It also maintains the current law's requirement to help students pay for exam fees.

-Title I, Part H - School Dropout Prevention.  Provides grants to States to strengthen and develop dropout prevention and school reentry programs, and to raise academic achievement levels by providing grants that: (1) challenge all students and (2) ensure that all students have access to school-wide programs proven to be effective in dropout prevention and school reentry.  The existing program is rewritten in this draft to provide incentives to states to increase graduation rates.  States will be required to determine how to strengthen state policies in order to raise gradation rates, while ensuring a rigorous secondary education, and implement new policies. The analysis will include an examination of policies of school funding, data capacity, accountability systems, interventions, new school development, and dissemination and implementation of effective local school improvement activities.

-Title I, Part I, Core Curriculum Development.  Includes a new program to provide funds to low-income districts to support high quality instruction in music and arts, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, history, geography and physical education and health.  Funds would support expanding the amount of instructional time in such subjects, developing high quality curriculum, providing essential materials and textbooks and partnering with community- based organizations to increase student learning in these subjects.

-Title I, Part J, Expanded Learning Time Demonstration Program: Includes a new program to provide funds to states and local educational agencies to expand learning time aimed at improving student achievement and engagement.  Funds could be used to expand learning time at elementary and secondary schools to support innovation, redesign, and improve educational programs, improve instruction and teacher collaboration, and improve the academic achievement of all students in participating schools.

3)  What do Children Need? 
Voices for Ohio's Children is sponsoring community briefings to discuss issues that will affect children in Ohio in 2007-08; review the recently approved state budget for FY08-09; review federal issues and strategies for becoming effective advocates; and identify budget issues for 2010 and 2011.  The briefings are open to the public, but registration is required, and the organizers are asking for a $10 donation to defray expenses. For more information (dates, time, and locations) about the community briefings, please visit http://www.vfc-oh.org/cms//970ae92bf0bd552e/index.html

4)  Report on Poverty and Income Released: 
The U.S. Census Bureau released on August 28, 2007 a report called "Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States:  2006".  This annual report includes 2007 data collected from two surveys to supplement the 2000 Census.  According to the report, 12.3 percent of Americans (36.5 million people) were living below the poverty level in 2006. This percentage has decreased from 12.6 percent in 2005.  The average poverty threshold for a family of four in 2006 was $20,444, and the median household income in the U.S. rose from $47,845 in 2005 to $48,201 in 2006.

The percentage of individuals without health insurance rose from 15.3 percent in 2005 to 15.8 percent or 47 million people, and number of uninsured children also increased from 8 million to 8.7 million.

According to the American Community Survey, the median household income levels in Ohio increased from $43,493 in 2005 to $44,532 in 2006.  The percent of people in Ohio below the poverty level increased slightly from 13.0 percent in 2005 to 13.3 percent in 2006. 18.7 percent of Ohio's children lived below the poverty level in 2006, which is above the national level of 18.3 percent.  Cleveland and Cincinnati were rated fourth and third poorest cities in the U.S. Detroit was rated number one, with a poverty rate of 32.5 percent.

These reports are available at http://www.census.gov/prod/2007pubs/p60-233.pdf and http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GRTSelectServlet?ds_name=ACS_2006_EST_G00_&_lang=en&_ts=206806266618

5)  Latest Report on For Profit Education Companies:  
The Arizona State University Commercialism in Education and Education Policy Research Units released on August 9, 2007 a report called "Profiles of For-Profit Education Management Organization:  2006-2007."  This annual report, in its ninth edition, provides an overview of information on education management companies (EMOs) in the U.S.

According to the report, "The for-profit education management industry has, based on the available data, entered a period of relative stability. The industry's actual condition, however, is more difficult to determine than ever.  This is because companies that dominate the industry are privately held and do not have to provide information to the public that they choose not to share.  As a result a large portion of the EMO industry is not subject to independent scrutiny of either financial results or academic performance."

Researchers found that 25 percent of students are enrolled in charter schools operated by EMOs; large EMOs dominate the for-profit education management industry; EMOs mostly serve charter primary schools; and 89 percent of students enrolled in an EMO operated school will be in a school larger than the national average.  Overall the number of charter schools is increasing, although the number of students attending charter schools is declining, and the number of EMO charter schools is stabilizing or declining slightly.

The researchers also noted the following, ".....despite repeated requests, several large publicly funded Education Management Organizations (EMOs) failed to provide information about their schools or finances when queried by researchers. Ohio-based White Hat Management, for example, was so reluctant to provide information that an employee answering the phone at their corporate headquarters refused to provide even her name before hanging up on an ASU researcher."

For more information about this report please visit
http://epsl.asu.edu/ceru/CERU_2007_emo.htm  or contact INFORMATION Alex Molnar at 480-965-1886;
epslmail@asu.edu.

6) What is the Whole Child Campaign?  The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development launched the Whole Child Campaign to support an education system in which all children are healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged.

The ASCD's Learning Compact Redefined:  A Call to Action, recommends that policy makers ensure conditions that support comprehensive approaches to learning.  This includes the following:

*Each student enters school healthy and learns about and practices a healthy lifestyle.
*Each student learns in an intellectually challenging environment that is physically and emotionally safe for students and adults.
*Each student is actively engaged in learning and is connected to the school and broader community.
*Each student has access to personalized learning and to qualified, caring adults.
*Each graduate is prepared for success in college or further study and for employment in a global environment.

The compact also supports a well-rounded curriculum, access to rigorous programs in arts, foreign languages, and social studies, and flexible graduation requirements.

To learn more about the Whole Child Campaign and view their extensive list of resources please visit http://www.wholechildeducation.org/

7)  Bills Introduced:

HJR2 Special Sessions (Book).  Specifies that no General Assembly may be held after the date of the general election in an even-numbered year, except a special session.


Ohio Fair Schools Campaign, 94 Columbus Road
Athens, Ohio 45701
Tel. (740)592-2866 Fax (740)593-5451