1. School Choice Report: Good News
2. 119 Bills and counting...
3. June, 1906 - Montpelier High School
4. News stories about prekindergarten
5. Education Quality and Economic Growth
6. Commentary: Too-timid education reform

ACT 150 REPORT ON SCHOOL CHOICE

Vermonters want more school choice and there's no good reason not to give it to them.

In a nutshell, that's what one can glean from the seventh report (released January 15) on Vermont's current meager public school choice plan, Act 150.

Enacted in 2000, the law requires public high schools to form school choice regions with at least one other public high school. Up to ten students from each school can transfer to schools within this region, with no money following the child except in the case of special education expenses. Although the law was set to sunset last year, the legislature repealed that part of the Act so choice could continue.

The law requires the VDOE to gather data and report annually on the program. Previous legislatures used the "sunset" provision of the law as an excuse not to expand choice, preferring to defer until the "final" report was in. And, even though every report to date has had the same message – the sky is not falling and parents and students like choice – the reports were used by legislators sympathetic to (or afraid of) the anti-choice VT-NEA as a way to stall constituents eager for more school choice. These legislators were able to claim that they wanted to see how choice played out before pushing for more.

Well, it's played out. And, not surprisingly, the message is the same one it's been in every single previous report on Act 150: Vermont's schools did not suffer. And oh, by the way, more students and parents want choice, if the steady increase in numbers of students applying to choice schools is any guide.

The numbers aren't huge, hardly enough to draw any hard and fast conclusions about nuances and discrete issues. But the Act is so restrictive (and schools sometimes so grudging in promoting choice) that it's a wonder students and parents know about the program at all.

More than 250 students applied to enroll in other schools through the Act 150 program this year, a little less than one percent of the entire Vermont 9-12 student body. Overall participation increased by 20 percent this year, says the report, the "highest number ever." Also of note: "Gender distribution, and participation by students receiving free and reduced price lunch, and by special education students, were consistent with these groups' proportional representation in the high school population," a reassurance to those who worried that choice would skew student populations in negative ways.

So now there's no good excuse not to expand the program. The test run is over and the results are in: it works.

For a summary of the law and reports on each year of its implementation, go to:
http://education.vermont.gov/new/html/laws/act150.html

THEY'RE BACK... WITH 120 EDUCATION BILLS

The second half of the 2007-08 legislative session has now begun with nearly 120 education-related bills introduced over the course of last year and this one. Only about a dozen have passed, leaving the rest hanging "on the wall." For some it will be as far as they advance. Here's a round-up of the good, the bad, and the silly:

Making school buses rolling billboards: H.581, introduced by Rep. Clement Bissonnette (D-Winooski), would require bus companies to display their phone numbers on the rear and front of the vehicle, a nice advertisement for the bus companies' services. To be fair, H.581's intention is to allow citizens to report dangerous driving by school bus drivers. Unfortunately, the bill doesn't require bus companies to report any complaints received as a result of the phone number displays, which, by the way, would be located not too far from the license plates, another handy reference number for vigilant drivers concerned about school bus safety.

Moo-ving local beef: S. 288, introduced by Sen. Sara Kittell (D-Franklin), would provide subsidies to school districts to use local beef in their menus and to give one eight-ounce serving of milk on every school day for any student who wants one.

School choice in multiple varieties: The good news here is that year after year, tenacious legislators introduce a variety of school choice bills. The bad news is they are among the bills most likely to hang on the wall with no action. This is particularly troubling given the good reports on choice year after year (see previous story). Of note in this year's crop are the following:

-- Parental choice scholarships in districts with excess spending: this bill, S. 264, introduced by Sen. George Coppenrath (R-Caledonia), would establish scholarships for parents to use at public or approved independent schools, or in home study programs when a district's budget has been identified as "excess spending."

 -- Public and Private School Choice: H.9, introduced by Rep. Harvey B. Otterman (R-Orange-Caledonia), would provide parents with a certificate for between $2,500 and $5,000 if they choose other schools for their children.

 -- Textbooks for home-school students: H.17 might not seem like a school choice bill, but it is in that it relieves some of the financial "penalty" for choosing alternative education for one's children. Sponsored by Rep. Anne Donahue (R- Northfield), this bill would require school districts to provide textbooks and other materials to home-schoolers in their districts.

 -- Co-curricular activities for private school students: Similarly, this bill, H.29, removes SOME of the sting of choosing a private school by requiring public schools to allow private school students to participate in co-curricular activities such as athletics. It was introduced by Rep. Willem Jewett (D-Ripton).

 -- Rep. Chen's bone to his constituents: H. 224, introduced by Rep. Harry Chen (D-Mendon) tries to address a problem in his legislative district (which includes choice and non-choice towns). It requires adjoining school districts to enter into choice arrangements and provides some money to follow the child. This bill has hung on the wall before but allows Rep. Chen, a legislator who's shown no active support of choice, to say he's doing something about school choice for his constituents.

 -- Charter schools: persistent legislators continue to push for charter schools, a natural for a small state like Vermont that celebrates diverse approaches to everything (except, it seems, education). H. 308, introduced by Rep. Gregory Clark (R-Vergennes) is this session's try.

Other bills include the usual "noncompliance with NCLB requirements" as well as a few consolidation efforts that have the potential of torpedoing the expansive 140-year-old choice systems available in tuition towns. Beware.

Also something to beware of: S.305. Introduced by Sen. James Condos (D-Chittenden), this bill would require the Commissioner of Education to come up with guidelines for pre-kindergarten teacher licensure requirements. The bill might as well be called the VT-NEA Membership and Influence Enhancement Plan. Once pre-k teachers get into the licensure pipeline, they're likely to be included in VT-NEA recruitment efforts.

WHAT WAS VERMONT EDUCATION LIKE A CENTURY AGO?

From information collected from Vermont Historical Society Documents, here's a glimpse of what Montpelier High School students were exposed to at their public schools:

June, 1906 - Montpelier High School General education preparation for collage

English, mathematics, trigonometry, algebra, science, physical geography, zoology, botany, chemistry, physics, Greek and Roman history, medieval history, modern English history, US history, Latin, 4 years or less, Greek, French, German, drawing and music also offered to the pupil, and military training for boys optional.

No student could graduate unless he or she has 4 subjects during each of four years making an average of 80 points. Must have a grade of 70 percent each subject before he or she can be promoted. On the athletic side of school life, no pupil shall play on any ball team unless that pupil meets the scholarship requirements. 

PUBLIC PRE-K NOT PAYING OFF ELSEWHERE AS COSTS RISE

As states expand funding of pre-kindergarten programs, stresses on youngsters and the programs alike are coming to light. Here's a round-up of a few news stories highlighting fiscal problems afflicting pre-k programs and new requirements for pre-k students:

New Jersey –- N.J. first state to require flu shots for preschool[ers] 

Texas – TEA report: Landmark preschool program isn't paying off

Arizona – Changes are in store for the infants and one-year-old programs at the Rector Preschool

Ohio – Preschool Student Accidentally Left on Middletown Bus

Education Quality and Economic Growth
Produced by the World Bank
Authors: Eric Hanushek and Ludger Wößmann

Selected Extracts from this 39-page document.

"About this book: This book aims to contribute to the World Banks education agenda by communicating research findings on the impact of education quality on economic growth. Eric Hanushek and Ludger Wößmann show that indeed the quality of education, rather than mere access to education, is what impacts economic growth.These world-renowned researchers use data on economic growth and student cognitive skills to help shift the dialogue to the ever-pressing issue of education quality...

"Policies aimed at increasing cognitive skills have themselves been disappointing. An emphasis on providing more resources while retaining the fundamental structure of schools has not had general success. On the other hand, one consistent finding emerging from research is that teacher quality strongly influences student outcomes. Just adding resources does not have much effect on teacher quality...

"There is growing evidence that changing the incentives in schools has an impact. Accountability systems based upon tests of student cognitive achievement can change the incentives for both school personnel and for students. By focusing attention on the true policy goal—instead of imperfect proxies based on inputs to schools— performance can be improved. These systems align rewards with outcomes. Moreover, increased local decision making or local autonomy, coupled with accountability, can facilitate these improvements. There is also suggestive evidence that greater school choice promotes better performance."

Click here to read the whole document. 

Commentary - Too-timid education reform
by John McClaughry

A year ago the Legislature directed Education Commissioner Richard Cate to spend a year in "public engagement," and then submit his recommendations for reforming the governance of Vermont public education. The year has gone by, and the commissioner has recommended. The question now is what the Legislature will do about it.

Cate's recommendation, in a nutshell, is this: The state should require the 45-50 school districts with fewer than 1,500 pupils to merge into larger new K-12 districts with a single superintendent and a unified tax base. All high school students should have the choice of attending any public or approved independent high school in Vermont or adjacent states, with tuition payments capped to protect local taxpayers.

Since there are now some 280 school districts and 62 superintendents, requiring 50 districts to merge would still leave Vermont with on the order of 260 districts and probably the same number of superintendents. This is hardly an earthshaking proposal. Earlier proposals over the past half-century have recommended as few as 25, 12 and even eight mega-districts.

The most recent one, from the Hoff-Hebard commission of 1987, recommended grouping towns into around 70 districts. Its ludicrous title, "Strengthening Local Control", made it so politically toxic that even Gov. Madeleine Kunin, who had appointed the commission, ran for cover even before the report reached her desk.

It's hard to avoid the conclusion that Cate's recommendations aren't grand enough to effect any major change either good or bad. The 62 superintendents will still have all the administrative headaches they have now, and will collectively be relieved of dealing with maybe 20 little school districts. No superintendent will be out of a job, and few if any tax dollars will be saved. Big deal.

The main reason why Vermont public K-12 education is so beastly expensive is the pupil teacher ratio 11.3 to one, by far the lowest in the entire country. (This data precedes the mushrooming of universal pre-K, a gift of the 2007 legislature.)

Under our present K-12 public education model, the way to curb rising education costs (now over $13,000 per pupil) is not more efficient purchasing of textbooks, fuel oil, and school supplies. It is not slashing teacher salaries and benefits. It is getting rid of teachers teaching small classes. That means big schools dropping some small classes, but mainly it means small schools dropping all their classes and disappearing.

This of course ignites an outcry from parents and others who cherish their small community schools. Before Act 60, these folks got hit with high tax bills for their high-cost small schools, but since Act 60 no one is very clear about who is paying for public education. The "close the school and save money" argument has lost a lot of whatever force it may once have had.

Commissioner Cate is a native Vermonter who understands the attachment of our communities to their small schools. He also understands the political strength of the vested interests that are making out very well with the present system. That would be superintendents (however burdened with too many districts), school boards jealous of their shrinking prerogatives, and especially the Vermont-NEA teachers union, whose political power depends on having lots of dues paying teachers and aides, and hence low pupil-teacher ratios.

Given the influence of the Vermont-NEA over the majority party in this legislature, it's a pretty safe bet that there won't be any motion in Cate's direction, and little support for his very positive proposal for parental choice for all public and independent high schoolers.

What Vermont really needs is a completely different K-12 educational model. That model would give all pupils the means to choose what best meets their needs and interests from a diverse range of educational offerings: public schools, independent schools, faith-based schools, charter schools, virtual schools, mentoring, home schooling, and other forms not yet even imagined.

Then there would no longer be an overgrown "public education system", any more than there is a "food system" or a "clothing system". Parents and students would have more educational choices and more little schools, but most of those schools, like today's faith-based schools, would be less expensive than today's state-controlled, over-regulated, over-bureaucratized, over-certified, over-unionized public school system.

The schools would be run by their own boards and principals. Superintendents would exist only to advise and assist all of these schools, and cope with indispensable special education requirements. Athletics, music and drama programs would become joint community efforts, like technical centers, no longer tied to individual schools.

The only real problem that this model doesn't solve is protecting the interests of all those adults faring quite well within the current system the people who told Cate they didn't want any changes.

John McClaughry of Kirby is president of the Ethan Allen Institute.
 

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