________________________________________  THE VERMONT EDUCATION REPORT September 12, 2005 - Vol. 5, No. 35 ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯  Covering education news in Vermont and beyond... Informative, provocative, unique... Published by Vermonters for Better Education  VBE 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. Libby Sternberg, executive director: VTBetterEd@aol.com NEWS & ANALYSIS... VSBA: DISAGREE WITH US AND YOU'RE GUILTY OF PARTISAN POSTURING The Vermont School Boards Association has weighed in on the early ed debate with an article by John Nelson, VSBA executive director, entitled "Summer Storm Over Early Education: Where Does the VSBA Stand?" In it Nelson lays out the history of the early education debate and the VSBA's position in support of publicly-funded preschool at public schools. To his credit, Nelson concedes that the use of ADM funds for preschool programs was viewed as a murky practice by some -- while the Vermont Department of Education and others asserted that State Board rules were sufficient for this drawdown, "others argued that statutory authority for the rule was far from clear," he writes. As to the VSBA's position, he says, "The essence of our resolution can be stated this way: the VSBA believes that publicly funded early education programs must be accountable to tax payers for the public funds they receive, publicly funded programs must meet appropriate quality standards and there must be a programmatic link between publicly supported early education programs and the public schools their students will attend after pre-school." This sounds reasonable enough on the surface but the "must be accountable" language is usually code for "keep the money in public schools only." Ironically, when even modest accountability standards are placed on public schools, their leaders balk. Witness the reaction to NCLB. At the end of Nelson's well-written article, he sums up how he and the VSBA will view opponents to their point of view: "It would not be productive to assign blame for the unnecessarily divisive climate that now surrounds this important area of public policy...In the end, Vermont school boards will make the best decisions about early education in an atmosphere free of partisan posturing." So, if you agree with VSBA you're nonpartisan, but if you disagree.... *   *   * COMMENTARY... BACK TO SCHOOL, BACK TO THE SAME OLD, SAME OLD by Libby Sternberg Leaves are already beginning to fall and the smell of diesel fuel from idling school buses fills the air. The new academic year has begun. With the start of a new academic year, the VER ventures to make a few predictions. Some of these are tongue-in-cheek, some dead serious: -- If test scores show Vermont's schools are improving, policy leaders will generously share the credit with hard-working teachers, parents and students. -- If test scores show any of Vermont's schools are failing to meet standards, policy leaders will share the blame with taxpayers, calling for more "resources" (translation: taxes) to be spent on the schools in question. -- In January, the Commissioner of Education will deliver his annual report on Act 150, Vermont's extremely weak public school choice law, and the legislature will do nothing to expand the law, which expires in 2007. The media will fail to cover this move toward a tacit repeal. -- In the Act 150 report, the Vermont Department of Education will again note that some schools misinterpret the law to mean they don't need to let students transfer unless an equal number of students want to transfer into their school. The Department, as usual, will do nothing to correct this. The media will fail to cover the fact that some schools still aren't obeying this four-year-old law. -- Superintendent William Mathis will write several commentaries that argue for less testing and/or more money, mocking those who oppose him and who support policies like school choice. The publication of his commentaries will result in an uptick in subscriptions to the VER. -- The leaders of both education committees in the legislature will take up the issue of early education. Secretly they will hope to find a solution to the early ed quandary that will give more power to parents who choose private providers, but they will be too cowed by their friends in the Education Lobby (particularly the VT-NEA, whom they'll count on for help in the upcoming election cycle) to overtly press for anything beyond the status quo. They will accuse those who disagree with them of not caring about little children. Or they will accuse them of "partisan posturing."  -- The governor will push for some modest education reforms, but if the administration meets rocky waters in the legislature, the reforms will die without a whimper. He will speak passionately about education reform, however, at several out-of-state meetings. The media will do a story on this after one of the governor's political opponents sends out a press release noting it. -- The State Board of Education will continue to wonder why their agenda is not being vigorously represented in the legislature and will be told that their legislative liaison has a right to express his own personal opinions as long as he distinguishes them from those of the Board. It is unclear if the Board will accept this. -- The VT-NEA will demand that the legislature's universal health care plan contain a carved out exception for the union's members so they can retain their current level of coverage and service. This will receive a scant mention in larger articles on the health care debate. -- Finally, private school enrollments will continue to grow while public school enrollments decline in Vermont. *   *   * FROM ELSEWHERE... From the U.S. Freedom Foundation On the web at: http://www.freedomfoundation.us DOUBLE STANDARDS IN SCHOOL PRACTICES by David W. Kirkpatrick, Senior Education Fellow What is termed a level playing field in education is, like beauty, often in the eyes of the beholder. Consider the following: Public educators regularly complain about regulations, for which they are usually the source. Yet rather than reduce or eliminate them, which they oppose, their idea of a level playing field is to have them placed on other schools and homeschoolers. Second, perhaps no field of endeavor is so resistant to research findings, either belittling or ignoring them, as is the public school establishment. Their interest in research findings seems to arise only when someone proposes a significant change. Suddenly the cry is "where is the research proving this will work?" Not only are supportive research conclusions ignored where they exist but there is strong opposition to limited programs that would provide the answers they claim to seek. A third example: When even limited reforms are attempted within the present system, it is emphasized that it may take years for results to be evident, such as the more than fifteen years that have elapsed for the statewide mandated reforms in Kentucky, or the more than 20 years of attempts to improve the Kansas City, Missouri school system since jurisdiction of it was assumed by a federal district judge. But if a reform is proposed to which the establishment objects, demands are made for proof in advance, or within the first year of the new program's operation. An extreme example was given when a new charter in Washington, D.C. school was criticized when there was some confusion the first day of school, and not all textbooks had arrived. But when an established public school district still has not made new textbooks available to its students by February of the school year -- a real example -- that's supposed to be acceptable and criticism is not welcome. Proposals for charter schools have also been opposed with the claim they would be elitist; that they would attract only the best and most motivated students. This has proven to be erroneous. Most charter schools are in urban areas where the needs, and numbers of minority students, are greatest. As a result, even though attendance is voluntary because all charter schools are schools of choice rather than ones to which students are assigned, minority enrollment is high. Now the movement has been charged with creating a new segregation. That these schools are located where the population is heavily minority, and everyone in the school is there willingly, is ignored. Also ignored are reports that public school enrollments show more black students today are in predominantly in schools with similar students than in 1954 when the U.S. Supreme Court's Brown vs. Board of Education decision was handed down. Some of that is the result of residential patterns but it is also true school boards draw up attendance areas and not all of their decisions are believed to be neutral. The establishment further objects to holding schools accountable for student achievement, arguing that there is much more to a good school than this demonstrates. While that is true, certainly student achievement is a necessary if not sufficient measure. At the same time they offer this disclaimer for themselves, they argue that alternative schools, charter schools, etc. should be judged by achievement tests, the interpretation of which are not only often distorted, looking at raw scores while ignoring such factors as the point from which students started, and the progress made. Overlooked too are higher attendance rates, lower dropout rates, higher graduation rates, higher degrees of satisfaction and other evidence that charter schools may produce better results than conventional schools. Another example is a universal tax credit, as in Arizona, where a $500 credit is available for donations to organizations providing scholarships to nonpublic school students or $200 for certain purposes at a public school. This has led some public educators to an uneven playing field, ignoring the fact that public schools are fully subsidized while nonpublic schools rely primarily on private sources. A true level playing field would give the same resources to each. But when your mind is made up why be confused by the facts? David Kirkpatrick is a Bennington native now living in Pennsylvania. He is a former public school teacher and officer in the PA NEA. #  #  # "We have created a system of school finance that provides free choice for the rich and compulsory socialization for everyone else." --Stephen Arons, Compelling Belief, NY: McGraw-Hill Cook Co., 1983  *   *   * WHO COVERS EDUCATION IN VERMONT? We do! 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, 170 Church Street, Rutland, Vermont 05701. VBE is a nonprofit organization and contributions are tax-deductible.  *   *   * A FEW FUNDRAISING BONUSES STILL AVAILABLE! Thanks to those who've responded to our annual plea for money! We still need more, though, to support the efforts of Vermonters for Better Education. Remember, we're one part-time staffer and a volunteer board - yet we've been able to play a major role in education policy in the state. Here's a special offer of thanks to donors who send in a check of $100 or more.... We'll send you a signed copy of David Kirkpatrick's 1997 booklet "School Choice: An Idea that Can't be Conquered." Kirkpatrick's columns frequently appear in this newsletter. This 30-page booklet was originally published by the Milton and Rose Friedman Foundation. For donors who contribute $300 or more... We'll send you a signed copy of a teen mystery inscribed to the child of your choice (provide the name with your donation) by the Edgar-nominated author herself (who also happens to be the editor of this newsletter). Bonus thank-you gifts are available while supplies last. Donors who sent in contributions in the past two months may request one of the bonus gifts by emailing Mailto:VTBetterEd@aol.com Send in your check today: VBE, 170 Church Street, Rutland, Vermont 05701. (If you'd prefer not to receive the thank-you bonuses, please let us know.) Thanks!   *   *   * The VERMONT EDUCATION REPORT is published by Vermonters for Better Education 170 Church Street, Rutland, VT 05701, 802.773.5240 Contact VTBetterEd@aol.com for more information.   Subscribe Here SubscribeRemove

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