1. Who Should Appoint the Commissioner?
2. Parental Rights Spared
3. PreK Public Comment Period Almost Up
4. NECAPs Released
5. Repeated: Small Schools' Remedy to Consolidation Fears
6. Gifted Students Left Behind

WHO SHOULD APPOINT THE COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION?

Dear Readers:

This past week, the Senate Education Committee addressed an issue that has reared its head from time to time over the past 20 years -- accountability at the highest level of education.

The Committee took testimony on the idea of turning the Commissioner of Education into a Secretary appointed by a three-member board of elected officials -- the governor, the Speaker of the House and the Senate Pro Tem.  Currently, Vermont's Commissioner is appointed by an unelected State Board of Education.  When Governor James Douglas took office, that board was made up of mostly appointees from the previous administration. It now includes members he's appointed.

Senators Donald Collins (D-Franklin), William Doyle (R-Washington), Harold Giard (D-Addison), and Robert Starr (D-Essex-Orleans) invited several to testify to the concept Sen. Giard is proposing. This list included the Commissioner of Education, the Chair of the State Board of Education, and the directors of the School Board and Superintendent Associations as well as others.  The discussion at times was heated. The bottom line for the Senators is this: they want more accountability for the 1.3 billion dollars that Vermont spends on education.

Topics and questions covered included: who is in charge, who should appoint the commissioner of education, do we really still need a state board of education, who is a champion for education, decentralization of schools, more local control of schools, the politicization of education, innovation in education, loyalty towards teachers, better grades, concern for the children in the bottom third of test scores, and more. The Senators want dynamic and stable schools with good leadership. The system needs to be more progressive and open minded and change is needed now.

The State Board of Education is working on changes to education through their transformation-of-education forums that would address some of these concerns, but how long will it take to get them in place? 

The Senate Education Committee's proposed changes are extensive and would take a tremendous amount of effort as well. A great deal of work would need to be done just by the Legislative Council to alter the education statutes to accommodate such a drastic change. But Sen. Starr said that perhaps their concerns could be addressed with some tweaking of the current system. So what is the best way to go for a solution?

Sen. Collins told testifiers to please come up with a better plan if they believe the current draft language will not get at what the Senators want to achieve. The Senators are not wedded to the language in the draft as much as they are intent on gaining more accountability in the system. The school board and superintendent organizations have been specifically charged with coming back with a better plan.

VBE had an opportunity to express an opinion during this time of testimony but chose to testify at a later date. The two-and-a-half hour intense committee discussion was about an idea that is in its embryonic stage, and who knows what this will look like when the draft language actually gets a bill number. If they truly want to put real accountability into the system, however, let parents and kids have choice over where they go to school and just watch the schools become dynamic, progressive, and open minded.

Whatever they finally come up with, it will be interesting to watch the process. This discussion is far from over and is certainly a discussion worth having – but the end result should be focused on the best interests of the child.

Retta Dunlap
Executive Director
Vermonters for Better Education

PARENTAL RIGHTS BEING SPARED

The previous Vermont Education Report carried the news of S.220, a bill with the good intention of ensuring library patron records' confidentiality. Unfortunately, that confidentiality included not allowing parents to see what their kids were borrowing from the library except in the case of overdue fines….for children under the age of 13. 

While in committee, the bill underwent some changes. Now the bill includes an exemption for parents of children 16 and younger who wish to see their children's library records and the books need not be overdue to access the records. 

As reported previously, it's unlikely that parents will be thronging to their local library poring over their kids' records.  But for those parents who need to do so – for whatever reason – the bill no longer shuts them out, inserting the librarian in their place.

S.220 passed out of committee with a 5-0-0 vote. It goes to the floor of the Senate for a second reading before moving on. 

PreK PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD ALMOST UP

Readers who have comments they would like to make about the preK rule-making process have a chance to do so by sending their thoughts to the Vermont Department of Education. Follow this link to read the rules and follow directions on where to send comments. The current rules discussion centers on setting state qualifications for preK teachers and other quality issues. February 29 is the deadline.

VBE's executive director watched the rule-making process and provided input. VBE is concerned that parents and private home-based providers will have to work very hard and be extremely vigilant in order to maintain their rights in this process.

Over in the legislature, language to clarify how preK children are counted (and thus funded) is being proposed in the miscellaneous amendments to education law. This change does not modify the original intent of the law but is intended to clear up who can be counted.  These changes can be viewed in Sec. 10 of H.864 on the Legislative webpages.

NO SURPRISES IN STATE TESTS

State test results released recently show a glass half full for Vermont students. Or rather, a glass three-quarters full.  While 60 percent or more of Vermont students tested using the New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) were proficient or higher in reading and mathematics, that still leaves about a third of Vermont's students less than proficient in these key gateway subjects.  Less than half the students tested were proficient in writing.

Vermont's lower-income students, as measured by those eligible for free or reduced lunch, fared the poorest on the tests. Only 53 percent of these students were proficient or higher in reading, only 45 percent were proficient or higher in math, and only 30 percent were proficient or higher in writing.

The NECAP was developed in collaboration with Rhode Island and New Hampshire and was designed to assess how well Vermont students have mastered the skills and content contained in the state's standards.

Because Vermont is fortunate not to be troubled by some of the more daunting challenges facing inner-city schools in other states (crime, racial tension), it is disturbing that a third of the students tested are falling so short of the mark.

The gap between rich and poor students is equally troubling. Less affluent students often depend on schools for ALL their educational needs.  Vermont schools are obviously not providing even gateway skills to these students.

Rutland Northeast Superintendent William J. Mathis used the NECAP results to a) criticize those who use the test results to focus on problems; and b) point out the need for more money to be invested in schools.  In an op/ed printed by the Rutland Herald/Times Argus, Mathis argued that Vermont ranks high among other states and it's more "investment" (translation: tax money) that's really needed to fix the gap between rich and poor students. There is one problem with this – there is no more money to be had.

Follow this link for a snapshot of NECAP results

Look here to see the standards students must master

WORTH REPEATING: IS YOUR SMALL SCHOOL AFRAID OF CONSOLIDATION?

From the 2/4/2008 VER: The school consolidation movement in the state is a fearful prospect for some communities that value their small schools.  After all, consolidation is often just a euphemism for "small school closure."  In the name of economizing, consolidation advocates will argue that larger school districts (perhaps built on a county district model) would get rid of redundancies in administration, particularly superintendents' offices. 

But some communities are looking into a way to preemptively attack this problem and keep their small schools open, no matter what consolidation plans become law– by turning their towns into tuition towns.  If a district privatizes its public school and becomes a tuition town, it can keep its small school open, and even accept students from other tuition towns.

Several Vermont towns are looking into this process now.  For those who need help, Vermonters for Better Education compiled a booklet, "How To Privatize a Public School in Vermont: A Layman's Guide."  This booklet, put together several years ago, includes specific references to Vermont statutes, a step-by-step guide, and the story of Winhall, which privatized its public school in 1998.

The booklet is available for free download here

GIFTED STUDENTS LEFT BEHIND?

Lucy Bogue, head of the Green Mountain Center for Gifted Education, had a thoughtful and insightful opinion piece in this week's Burlington Free Press about the needs of gifted and talented children. Bogue argues that these children are often ignored because they have "so much going" for them and some believe it is "elitist" to meet the needs of advanced students.

She points out, however, that gifted students can suffer from depression, anxiety and even be misdiagnosed as learning disabled because of being bored in school. Less affluent gifted children, in particular, are in need of school approaches that meet their needs since their parents are unlikely to have the financial resources to supplement their education with outside programs.

Bogue argues convincingly for academic groupings that allow like-learners to move at their own pace. She answers question that arise when these ideas are discussed:

"Won't it hurt some children's feelings if they aren't in a top group? Isn't this the same as tracking? No, it is not tracking, since groups are constantly changing. And why is grouping by readiness acceptable in sports and music, and not in academics?"

Read the full article here
 

We do!  Please consider a gift to Vermonters for Better Education, the publisher of the weekly Vermont Education Report, Vermont's ONLY continual source of education news. Send donations to: VBE, PO Box 72, Woodbury, VT 05681. VBE is a nonprofit organization and contributions are tax-deductible.

The VERMONT EDUCATION REPORT is published by Vermonters for Better Education PO Box 72 Woodbury, VT 05681 - 802-472-5491. The Vermont Education Report may be reprinted with the editor's permission. For more information contact: VBE@comcast.net or visit us on the web: http://www.schoolreport.com

VERMONTERS FOR BETTER EDUCATION is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization whose mission is to enlist parents and the public at large in achieving quality educational opportunities for all the children of Vermont by monitoring the state of education in Vermont; promoting the value of educational freedoms for all parents; and giving parents the evaluative tools with which to identify excellence.

Retta Dunlap, executive director
VBE@comcast.net