Moscow Education (Idaho)

As reported in today's edition of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News:

St. Mary’s School will host its 30th annual school auction and fundraiser at 5 p.m., Saturday at the Best Western University Inn in Moscow.

The theme for this year’s auction is “Tropical Nights,” and attendees are encouraged to dress accordingly.

The cost is $40 per person for a tropical buffet, Polynesian entertainment and music by the University Jazz IV Band, or $10 per person without the buffet dinner. Reservations must be made in advance.

Some of the items available at the auction are travel packages, a basketball signed by the Gonzaga men’s basketball team, Adirondack furniture, a Samsung 42” HDTV wide-screen TV, a Custom Home design, Antiques & Collectibles, a 2000 Chevrolet Tracker 4wd SUV, classroom quilts, an original stained glass picture, and artwork.

All proceeds benefit St. Mary’s School. For information or to make reservations, contact Katherine at (208) 882-7304.

As reported in today's edition of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News:

Roy Atwood, president of New Saint Andrews College, will be the speaker at the meetingy of the League of Women Voters at noon Wednesday in the conference room of the Moscow School District office building, located at 650 N. Cleveland in Moscow.

Atwood served first as dean of the college and has been its president since 2004. His topic will be “The State of New Saint Andrews.”

The meeting is open to the public. For more information contact League President Amy Ford at (208) 882-7065.

"I heard yesterday that there was a flu going around, but that's all."

– Stockton Teachers Association President Bonnie Boggs, when asked what she knew about 325 district teachers staging a sickout in protest of stalled contract negotiations. (January 25 Stockton Record)

HT: EIA

NEA's internal goals for the 2006-08 budget cycle are "a 2 percent net annual growth in membership, while retaining at least 90 percent of the current members who are eligible for membership and engaging at least 10 percent of the total membership." NEA had a relatively good membership year in 2004-05, largely due to disproportional teacher hiring, but its net growth was only 1.3 percent.

From The Education Intelligence Agency.

From the UI Argonaut:

Dan Schoenberg, former director of Auxiliary Services, was charged with a felony count of misuse of public money Monday after a lengthy investigation by the Idaho State Police.

Schoenberg, 47, is accused of making “unauthorized expenditures between June 2001 and August 2004 from his Auxiliary Services budget, including purchases of tools, supplies and building materials for his personal use,” according to the criminal affidavit filed by Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson.

As the Auxiliary Services director, Schoenberg was responsible for overseeing University of Idaho services that generated revenue, such as the UI Bookstore, University Dining Services, the UI Golf Course, the Kibbie Dome and student housing.

Idaho statute states that if Schoenberg is convicted of the crime, he faces no less than one year in prison and not more than 10 years. He would also be banned from ever holding public office in the state.

According to a section of the affidavit, authored by an independent Idaho State Police investigator, law enforcement officials received a forensic audit from the UI Auxiliary Services budget that identified “numerous items of questionable expenditures made by Schoenberg from year 2000 through year 2004.”

The investigation allegedly revealed the unauthorized expenditures made by Schoenberg, and the criminal complaint also states that during an interview with the forensic auditors, he admitted to the unauthorized use..

Now here's a teacher pay proposal that that's on the right track. Imagine what Idaho's universities would be like if pay were the same across all disciplines? There would be no College of Engineering and no College of Science. My only suggestion would be that the pay schedule be raised for math and science teachers without additional funding, There is already plenty of money in current payrolls to fund Goedde's suggestion.

You can tell that Goedde's suggestion is on the right track because it is opposed by the IEA and its SDE Superintendent candidate, Bert Marley.

Jack Wenders

Bill would boost pay for math, science teachers
Districts would have option of accepting funds

Anne Wallace Allen
The Associated Press
Edition Date: 01-31-2006

A bill sponsored by the chairman of the Senate Education Committee would increase pay for math and science teachers in a bid to attract more candidates for those jobs.

Sen. John Goedde, R-Coeur d'Alene, told his committee Monday that the measure would cost the state about $2.8 million annually. School districts negotiate their contracts with their local teachers' unions, and it would be up to the districts to decide whether to accept the extra money from the state - so the cost might be less, Goedde said.

"Some school districts might not avail themselves of the money," he said. Lawmakers on Monday voted to approve the measure for more discussion.

Goedde's proposal would add 3.75 percent to some salaries under the pay formula the state now uses for teachers. A raise of 3.75 percent would add about $1,200 per year to a salary of $40,000.

All secondary school teachers spending a majority of their time teaching math or science would be eligible.

In hearings this month regarding a Board of Education plan to add math and science requirements to the high school curriculum, opponents have argued that Idaho now lacks the math and science teachers it needs - and that the curriculum redesign would make the problem worse. Goedde's bill is aimed at addressing that issue.

There are efforts under way to increase the salaries of all teachers in Idaho. Schools Superintendent Marilyn Howard has proposed a budget that would raise teacher salaries. Gov. Dirk Kempthorne said in his State of the State address earlier this month that he hopes to raise salaries for beginning teachers from the average $27,500 to $30,000 each year.

And the Board of Education has studied a plan to have some of Idaho's 115 school districts pay their 14,000 teachers under a merit system.

Idaho Education Association Executive Director James Shackelford said his group would not approve of a move that raised the salaries of only math and science teachers.

"Differentiating between the subject matter sends a message to students that certain subject matter is more important than others," Shackelford said.

"It also sends a message to other teachers that what they're teaching is not as valuable."

Goedde's proposal would affect only the pay of teachers in secondary schools.

"It's not going to help anybody at the lower part of the salary schedule," Sen. Bert Marley, D-McCammon, told Goedde on Monday. "If our effort here is to attract new teachers into math, this misses the boat."

Goedde agreed it would not help attract math and science teachers to elementary schools.

But "I'd suggest that it solves part of the problem," he said.

As reported in today's edition of the Idaho Statesman:

The University of Idaho was honored as a top national doctoral education institution earlier this month at the U.S. University Presidents Summit on International Education.

U of I President Tim White was invited by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings to represent Idaho's oldest university. In addition to its doctoral degree programs, U of I has been designated the state's principal graduate education and research university.

The summit will initiate a dialogue regarding the future of U.S. higher education in the global arena, including how to attract foreign students and scholars to U.S. institutions and encourage American students to receive a portion of their education abroad.

U of I attracted 583 degree-seeking international students during the fall 2005 semester, most of whom participate in the university's engineering, chemistry and bioinformatics programs.

U.S. News & World Report recently ranked the University of Idaho in its top category of national universities having the widest range of undergraduate and graduate majors and listed U of I among the top schools in the national/doctoral category. The rankings are based on a variety of data including academic reputation, retention and graduation rates, class size, faculty salaries, student-to-faculty ratios, alumni giving rate, financial resources and student SAT scores and high school rank. U of I faculty continue to provide top-notch research, attracting over $100 million in research grants and contracts annually.

From the Longview Daily News:

Get to class on time? Or grab a Pepsi to quench a caffeine craving?

For Thomas Chavez, a junior at Mark Morris High School, the choice has been a tough one this year.

To get his caffeine fix, the 17-year-old frequently heads off campus, to gas stations and stores across the street from the high school.

"I do it all the time, when I have money," Thomas said. The trips sometimes make him slide into his seat after the bell. And in extreme circumstances, he's even ditched class.

This year, Thomas, along with the rest of students in Longview schools, is learning to deal with a new nutrition policy that bans the sale of pop and sugary foods during the school day.

The district adopted the policy -- which also cuts back on portion sizes of less healthy foods -- in response to increasing state and federal pressure on schools to combat the bulging obesity rates among American youth.

But Longview students say they've found ways around the ban, by browsing local convenience stores for soda and candy, heading home for a treat or bringing their own snacks. "It's really pointless because you just go somewhere else and be unhealthy," said Tia Oliver, a 17-year-old Mark Morris senior.

School officials acknowledge that students are bailing on the cafeteria -- Longview high schools have open campuses -- but educators say they're not about to abandon the policy nor prohibit kids from leaving during lunch.

"I don't know how we can argue against better nutrition for kids. That's the bottom line," Mark Morris Principal Chris Fritsch said. "It might take a year or two. But we'll figure it out."

But the district, Fritsch said, may have underestimated the pull of the newly renovated Triangle Center -- complete with WinCo Foods, Starbucks, Pizza Schmizza and Quiznos -- across the street from Mark Morris.

"There are so many places around here," said Katie Cain, a 16-year-old Mark Morris sophomore. "Some people are late to school because they go to Starbucks."

School officials say they're looking into more appealing healthy foods and treats to tempt kids to eat on campus. But in the meantime, without high-demand items for sale, Mark Morris and R.A. Long high schools have reported dramatic dips in their revenue from vending machines and student stores.

At R.A. Long, the student store had a roughly 40 percent drop in sales in November and December, compared to the same months last year.

And in the pop machines at Mark Morris -- that aren't stocked with carbonated beverages anymore -- there's been a roughly 60 percent decline for November and December sales, according to district figures.

Those funds fuel student activities, such as athletics and DECA, a marketing club.

"It's ridiculous. All the school is doing is losing money," said Amber Buckee, a 16-year-old Mark Morris junior. "All the kids do is take time out of our day and go over to the gas station and get the same stuff." Last school year, Amber Corona bought a soda nearly every day at school. This year is a different story.

"You're always thirsty, and all you can have is water now," the 16-year-old Mark Morris sophomore complained.

Some students say they're learning to work the system in the cafeteria, where servings have been downsized.

"Sure, they give you a half portion of fries. But you can go back and get extra," said Brendon Little, an 18-year-old Mark Morris senior.

For Chace Pedersen, a 14-year-old R.A. Long freshman, the nutrition policy is a moot point. "I don't eat at school," he said on his way back a popular destination on 30th Avenue for kids on the hunt for snacks. "It doesn't bother me."

Not everyone, though, is complaining about the change: Brittainey Miller, a 16-year-old Mark Morris junior, said she approves of the school's ban on soda sales.

Still, she does want more options in the cafeteria and other choices in the vending machines other than water and flavored water -- which she describes as tasting like "lip gloss."

"They don't have enough variety," she said recently during lunch. "That's why no one eats here anymore."

Brittainey and a group of friends were beelining to Lower Columbia College next door -- where they offer better food, she said.

Terry Sargent, a teacher's aide who oversees the R.A. Long student store, said at the beginning of the year, some students felt they needed to assert their independence by bringing pop and sugar-filled foods to school.

"They needed to make a point," she said. "But I don't see that as much now. I think everyone's kind of settling in, and we do have our students who like their water and flavored water and juice."

Last year, she had students pestering her for healthy options. Now, they have choices, Sargent said.

Still, some students say they'll continue to go great lengths to keep caffeinated.

"We will actually do anything to eat the way we eat," said Lee Dowd, an 18-year-old Mark Morris senior. "We will walk for it. We will drive for it. We will pay extra for it."

From the Baltimore Sun:

When Shawn Spence first moved to Baltimore, she enrolled her eldest children in what she believed was one of the best public schools in the city.

But before long, her daughter started bringing books from home to read while the teacher worked with less advanced pupils in the crowded fifth-grade classroom. Spence's first-grader sat with his head on his desk while the harried teacher dealt with behavioral problems.

Spence said budget cuts brought an end to foreign-language instruction and meant one teacher had to juggle both physical education and art classes at the school, which she declined to identify.

The breaking point came when Spence brought her loquacious 3-year-old to the public library for a story hour with other preschoolers. When his enthusiastic questions and comments during the story were shushed, Spence had an unsettling vision. She feared that when her son hit school age, he could be tagged as having an attention disorder and unfairly burdened with the sort of negative profile that she believes the schools disproportionately attach to black boys.

"That was the straw that broke the camel's back," said Spence, 34, a freelance writer and former editor and teacher. "He's going to be interested and want to learn things, and is going to be told to sit down and to be quiet. I'm not going to have him tracked and medicated."

Which is how Spence and three of her five children ended up sitting at their dining room table on a recent morning with spelling, math, grammar, language-arts and phonics books strewn haphazardly before them, along with flashcards, crayons, markers, stuffed animals, children's fiction, old mail and an apple.

In 2004, Spence and her husband joined the growing ranks of blacks opting to teach their children at home. Black parents - some of whom consider themselves to be part of a movement - share the common concerns of most families that home-school their children: They're dissatisfied with expensive private schools or the failure and hopelessness they see in public schools, or they want to emphasize religious education.

From the Boston Globe:

At Milton High School, girls outnumber boys by almost 2 to 1 on the honor roll. In Advanced Placement classes, almost 60 percent of the students are female.

It's not that girls are smarter than boys, said Doug Anglin, a 17-year-old senior at the high school.

Girls are outperforming boys because the school system favors them, said Anglin, who has filed a federal civil rights complaint contending that his school discriminates against boys.

Among Anglin's allegations: Girls face fewer restrictions from teachers, like being able to wander the hallways without passes, and girls are rewarded for abiding by the rules, while boys' more rebellious ways are punished.

Grading on homework, which sometimes includes points for decorating a notebook, also favor girls, according to Anglin's complaint, filed last month with the US Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights.

''The system is designed to the disadvantage of males," Anglin said. ''From the elementary level, they establish a philosophy that if you sit down, follow orders, and listen to what they say, you'll do well and get good grades. Men naturally rebel against this."

...

Anglin's complaint has set off a buzz among the 1,000 students at the school. Little, the student body president, said she disagrees with students who think Anglin is chauvinistic.

Of the 22 students in her honors Spanish class, only one is a boy, said Little, a senior. She also said that teachers rarely ask her for a hall pass if she is not in class, while they routinely question boys walking behind her.

As for assignments, she said, one teacher expects students to type up class notes and decorate their notebooks with glitter and feathers.

''You can't expect a boy to buy pink paper and frills to decorate their notebooks," Little said.

From the Cybercast News Service:

A New York State appeals court on Wednesday ruled that Le Moyne College was wrong to dismiss a student who wrote a paper in support of corporal punishment in elementary school classrooms.

Scott McConnell was dismissed from the graduate education program in January 2005 because of a paper he wrote two months earlier that advocated "corporal punishment," including spanking, as an effective means to create an ideal learning environment.

McConnell earned an 'A-' on the paper but the program's director, Dr. Cathy Leogrande, dismissed McConnell on the grounds that she had "grave concerns regarding the mismatch between [his] personal beliefs regarding teaching and learning and the Le Moyne College program goals."

After the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education unsuccessfully attempted to reverse the school's decision with public pressure, McConnell sued the college for wrongful dismissal because it did not grant him an opportunity to appeal.

Le Moyne argued that it had the right to dismiss McConnell without giving him a chance to appeal because he had been accepted into the program on the condition that he complete all admission requirements, including a review of his first semester performance. It argued that he had never been fully accepted and therefore could be dismissed without an appeal.

But Judge Edward Carni of the Supreme Court of the State of New York's Appellate Division ruled that "neither the Catalog nor the conditional acceptance letter states that personal goals are a criterion for admission."

Yes, but he clearly didn't have the dispositions to be a teacher.

From the Seattle PI:

School closures must become a reality by 2007 if Seattle Public Schools is to recover from its ongoing budget woes and improve academic performance, School Board members said Wednesday.

In announcing a six-month schedule for choosing which schools to close or consolidate, board President Brita Butler-Wall said the district "can no longer tolerate" educational inequalities around the city.

"It's time for us to create a stronger, but smaller, district," she said.

To help get public buy-in, the board will appoint a 14-member citizens advisory committee to make recommendations and hire a consultant to help guide the process. Board members stressed no schools would be closed until fall 2007.

Reaction to the announcement was mixed. Some parents and principals who went through last year's aborted school closure process seemed resigned to the idea this time. Others still questioned whether such a drastic step was necessary.

District officials and an existing advisory committee studying the issue say projected budget shortfalls and declining enrollment make closures unavoidable. The 46,000-student district faces deficits of nearly $15 million in 2006-07 and $25 million the following year.

Of course, our Moscow School District takes the opposite approach: declining enrollment means a) add more staff and teachers and b) ask for more money.

Wake up, Moscow!

HT: Dave G.

The 28 Jan 2006 edition of the NY Times has an article reporting:

A large-scale government-financed study has concluded that when it comes to math, students in regular public schools do as well as or significantly better than comparable students in private schools.

Jack Wenders comments on the study:

Nothing really surprising here. The point-in-time achievement gap between public and private schools is often considerably narrowed by taking student socio-economic status (SES) into account. By this measure, suburban public and private schools are often found to be on a par by pure achievement measures.

Some points to consider.

1. There's more to education than simple achievement, and more to achievement than simply math. Reading achievement is certainly important, as it contributes to verbal cognitive ability. And content and cost are other dimensions of education. In the end, parental judgement is surely the best measure of school quality because it takes all dimensions of education into account.
2. This is a cross section study, which, correctly, tries to control for SES. But SES controls in cross section studies are always inferior to studies using value added (over time)--longitudinal--data. The latter do a much better job of controlling for SES because they follow the same students over time.
3. Finally, the most important measure of school performance is productivity--output relative to cost. Since private schools produce education at 50 to 60% of the per pupil cost of public schools, the latter have a long way to go to catch up to private education. Same thing for charters, which in ID produce at about 60-70% of the per pupil cost of their home public schools and have much higher labor productivity. Drop out rates are much higher in public schools, and graduation rates are much lower.

As a follow-up to the previous posting on NEA spending.

This morning's Wall Street Journal contained an editorial entitled "Teachers' Pets (Cont'd)," which was a response to NEA's response to WSJ's January 3 editorial. Today's piece fleshed out more precisely the LM-2 categories -- what money went where and for what reasons -- but failed to acknowledge that the $65 million in "contributions, gifts and grants" is not equal to the amount that NEA gave "in its members' dues to left-liberal groups last year," as the original piece stated. That amount requires more information than is present in the LM-2, and one's precise definition of "left-liberal group."

But this back-and-forth between WSJ and NEA has a long and storied history. The earliest manifestation I can find begins on January 14, 1985, when the WSJ editorial page reported on the nomination of William Bennett as U.S. Secretary of Education. "The National Education Association, the once-powerful teachers' union, has already come out against him," the Journal reported.

On January 23, NEA President Mary Hatwood Futrell corrected the paper, stating that "NEA has taken no position on the nomination of Dr. Bennett." (Even now this should be news to NEA members.) The Journal printed its response the same day: "Oh."

Ultimately, it didn't matter because NEA and Bennett were fated to be mortal enemies, and they were.

From The Education Intelligence Agency.

John Stossel's "Stupid in America" caused a major uproar when it aired on January 13, but as I write this I have in front of me a transcript of Stossel's "Public Schools in Bad Shape" from November 12, 1999. It is essentially the same report -- but with a teacher test instead of a student test. Stossel has been heavily criticized for bias, but it's not good news for public schools that he can basically rerun a six-year-old report and no one accuses him of being out-of-date. Agree with his conclusions or hate his guts, the situation is still pretty much the same as it was in November 1999.

From The Education Intelligence Agency.

If you are interested in keeping the government's "hands-off" homeschooling, I suggest you contact your local Representative and Senator.  But don't waste your time calling Gary Schroeder...

From the Associated Press:

Almost 14,000 of Idaho’s school-age children were not accounted for by any education agency as recently as 2003, a new report from Boise State University estimates.

Those kids make up about 6.5 percent of the state’s school-age population, nearly double the national percentage of such children who couldn’t be accounted for in the study by Philip Kelly, a senior policy analyst at BSU. Many are probably being homeschooled.

“The whole point is, no one knows,” Kelly said Thursday. “It’s a hugely important question.”

Idaho law requires that kids between the ages of 7 and 16 be educated, but not in any particular place; only “in subjects commonly and usually taught in the public schools of the state of Idaho.”

Idaho is one of six U.S. states that require no registration from parents who decide to keep their children out of school and teach them at home. But neither the state nor school districts track homeschooling, so nobody knows for sure how many children are learning somewhere. Kelly estimated there are more than 4,700 homeschooled kids in Idaho.

“You’re still left with 9,000 kids” not accounted for, Kelly said. His report, “Educational Neglect & Compulsory Schooling: A Status Report,” was commissioned by the Idaho governor’s office, which did not return calls seeking comment Thursday.

State Sen. Gary Schroeder has long maintained that many Idaho kids aren’t getting the education they need, and the state should do more to keep track of them. Schroeder, R-Coeur d’Alene [DMC: R-Moscow], a former chairman of the Senate Education Committee, said a homeschooled teenager who applied for a job at his mail-order business recently had to have his mother fill out the application. Schroeder didn’t hire him.

“I’m not against homeschooling,” Schroeder said. “But you ought to be doing it, not just saying you’re doing it.”

Other education policy makers say Idaho has a higher-than-average proportion of homeschoolers — perhaps because of the freedom they find here — and the students generally do well.

“Our homeschooled students are well-prepared,” said Dene Thomas, President of Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston.

In the report, Kelly used 2003 data from the Census and from education departments in all 50 states. He established population estimates of school-age children and subtracted the number of children enrolled in public and private schools and estimated to be homeschooled. He used a national estimate that 2.2 percent of all school-age children are homeschooled to come up with a figure of 4,731 homeschooled kids in Idaho.

Hawaii had the highest proportion of children that are unaccounted for in educational institutions — a condition the report describes as “educational neglect” — at 17 percent. Virginia, Missouri, Oklahoma and New Mexico also have high numbers; the national average is 3.5 percent.

The report also lists several states, including Florida, Indiana and Connecticut, where departments of education reported more children in schools than the Census estimated lived in the state.

Idaho homeschool advocate Barry Peters, an Eagle lawyer, said those figures show all of Kelly’s research is flawed.

“These kids are not missing; they’re not registered with the state because there’s no mechanism for them to be registered,” said Peters, who lobbies on behalf of the Idaho Coalition of Home Educators and Christian Homeschoolers of Idaho State, but said he didn’t know how many homeschoolers there are in the state.

Allison Westfall, a spokeswoman for the state Education Department, agreed that there’s no way to track kids in Idaho. She said Kelly’s research will help her answer the frequent questions she gets about home schooling.

“We really didn’t have any data to know who isn’t coming to school,” Westfall said. “We don’t have the authority.”

Philips’ report recommends the state require all homeschooled children to take standardized academic progress tests, and register with the state.

Attempts to regulate home schooling in Idaho have failed in the past. Many homeschooling advocates don’t want to register.

“There’s a huge self-interest in educational institutions wanting to regulate homeschooling, and it isn’t always for the best of the children,” said Alice Grannis of Coeur d’Alene, who belongs to a group called the North Idaho Home Education Association. Grannis noted that schools generally receive taxpayer money according to a formula based on how many children they have in the classroom.

Bryan Samuels, principal of Lapwai High School in rural northern Idaho, said most of his students belong to the Nez Perce American Indian tribe, which requires students to be in school and pursues them if they aren’t. As for the rest: In a rural district with only 530 students grades kindergarten through twelve, Samuels said if a student is missing school, he will hear about it.

“I don’t think there’s a family out there that’s just not sending their kid to school,” he said.

REVIEW & OUTLOOK
January 27, 2006; Page A8

Our recent editorial on the political spending of the National Education Association has caused something of a stir, and not always of the illuminating kind. In a letter to the editor on January 13, NEA President Reg Weaver claimed we misread the data his union has released to the Labor Department Web site. We didn't, but we appreciate the opportunity to draw more attention to the NEA's spending priorities.

New transparency rules now require large unions like the NEA to reveal more detailed financial information in forms (known as LM-2s) that they file annually with Labor. What caught our attention in the NEA's most recent filing is the extent to which it behaved more like a liberal philanthropy than a labor union in dispensing the $295 million in member dues it took in last year.

Under the new regulations, which Big Labor fought, unions itemize expenditures under categories like "general overhead," "political activities and lobbying" and "contributions, gifts and grants." In his letter, Mr. Weaver suggests that only a very small percentage of union dues money is steered toward politics, while the vast majority goes "straight to our local and state affiliates for education programs and member services." Nice try.

What Mr. Weaver didn't reveal is that the NEA also works though these same state affiliates to further its political goals by bankrolling ballot and legislative initiatives. To that end, the Kentucky Education Association received $250,000 from the NEA last year; the Michigan Education Association received $660,000; and the California Teachers Association received $2.5 million. We doubt this cash goes into buying more laptops for poor students.

And then there's the money that the NEA sends directly to sympathetic interest groups working at the state level, such as the $500,000 that went to Protect Our Public Schools, an anti-charter outfit in Washington State (never mind that charters are "public schools," albeit ones allowed to operate outside the teachers' union education monopoly).

Often, the recipients of these outlays have at best a tangential education mission. The Floridians For All Committee, a political action committee created by pro-labor Acorn to push for a minimum-wage hike, received $250,000 from the NEA last year. And the Fund to Protect Social Security received $400,000. In total, the NEA reports spending $25 million on "political activities and lobbying." But that doesn't tell the whole story.

The NEA spent another $65.5 million on "contributions, gifts and grants," and many of the recipients listed under this category are also overtly politicized organizations: the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation ($40,000), the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute ($35,000), the Democratic Leadership Council ($25,000). The next time the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal think tank that received $45,000 from the NEA last year, issues a report slamming school choice, we'll have to wonder whether it was bought and paid for by the teachers unions.

None of this is to suggest that the NEA or Mr. Weaver is engaging in any illicit behavior. Our point was to alert both the public, and especially the 2.7 million NEA members, that their forced dues payments are being spent on an agenda that could have been compiled by the most liberal members of the Democratic National Committee. And thanks to these new disclosure rules, this agenda is now out in the open, where it belongs.

HT: Jack Wenders

As reported in today's edition of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News:

The New Saint Andrews College accreditation celebration brought about 150 visitors to mix and mingle between the tall stacks of the community’s newest resource — a library.

Amidst his excitement in recognizing the accreditation, NSA President Roy Atwood invited the public to become members of the Tyndale Library during his address Thursday night.

After struggles with tax hearings and zoning debates, Atwood hoped the invitation would be viewed as an outstretched hand.

“It’s to benefit those who’d like to use it,” said Bob Hieronymus, executive vice president. “We bring a library with a particular, unique character.”

The Tyndale Library boasts 56,000 volumes in its collection. It suits the curriculum of the classical Christian college with a focus in supplying literature, history, theology, philosophy, social sciences and the other areas of the arts and humanities.

Membership has an annual fee because the library relies on private funding to operate. The rate ranges from $35 for an individual 18 and older to $2,500 for a lifetime membership. There also are some stipulations on select books and hours to maintain maximum access for the students — such as during the week prior to final exams.

One display in the library drew more attention than even the appetizer table. People crowded to have their photos taken with a nearly six-foot tall stack of books.

Senior Brent McLean said the stack shows what freshmen are required to read. He pointed to one of his favorites among the 84 books, “Leave it to Smith” by P.G. Wodehouse. He said the stack was only about 60 books high when he started.

The change in books is only one small event for students like McLean, who plan to apply to graduate schools. NSA received accreditation on Nov. 29. from the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools, recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.

“It is quite important for me,” McLean said. “It expands the options, so I am very happy about that.”

Juniors Robin Harris and Bethany Waller agreed.

“It’ll make it easier for universities to accept NSA transcripts,” Harris said.

The evening marked a triple event as it honored the accreditation, acted as an open house for the library, and shared the night as a Moscow Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours open house.

Shirley Greene, owner of Greene’s Body and Paint Service, said she attended in support of each aspect. “(NSA) gives the community more options,” she said. “Like anything, it’s a business, and it’s good for the community.”

She said it brings in students from all over the world and that’s positive for the community and “a plus for our area.”

Hieronymus said the college’s accreditation has been received “with delight and congratulatory remarks” from numerous community members.

“It’s not every day that a college is born and this accreditation is a major milestone in the life of a college, so it’s an affirmation of what we have set out to do,” he said.

Last night, NSA stacked up the books on the Freshman reading list in the library.

I took some pictures of various people in front of that reading list.

Here are some pictures I took last night at the NSA Accreditation celebration.

In response to the article Growth Spurs School Funds Request: $5 Million More Sought To Avoid Shortfall In Spring, Jack Wenders writes:

Same old story: send more money.

For an analysis of the growth "problem" see: http://www.edexidaho.org/news_views/nv01.htm

Growth is only a "problem" in a handful of districts. As Table Two in this article shows, in all of these districts except Meridian the annual growth could have been absorbed by the opening of an additional charter school, which use only about 70% of taxpayer monies compared to the traditional public schools. Traditional public schools have an edifice complex which makes their buildings about twice as expensive as charter school's (per square foot).

Also, we are continually told that there is a teacher "retention" problem, but now we are told that all the teachers are packed at the top of the pay scales because we've got too much "retention".

It also might be worthwhile to review how Idaho's teachers pay actually compares to other states, not to mention that public school teachers are usually paid around 20% more than private school teachers in salary alone.

The details are at www.edexidaho.org, and here: http://www.edexidaho.org/news_views/AFTSurvey.htm

Note that the present $27,5000 in beginning pay translates into about $38,000 to $39,000 in salary plus benefits. The actual figures for last year in Boise and Nampa were $39,358 and $38,377, respectively, which are typical. At the proposed $30,000, these would rise to $42,338 and $41,356, respectively, for a 190 day contract year. How many fresh college graduates make that kind of money on their first job for a 190 day work year (at max.)?

Jack

As reported in today's edition of the Idaho Statesman:

The J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation, which helped shape Idaho public education with millions of dollars in private money over the past decade, wants to see a community college in the Treasure Valley and is looking for ways to make it happen.

The foundation already has two proposals, from Boise State University and the Treasure Valley Community College in Ontario, Ore.

"There is a huge need," said Lori Fisher, foundation executive director in her first interview Thursday since the Oregon-based TVCC announced earlier this week it was invited by the foundation to submit a proposal.

Many students either can't afford or aren't academically ready to attend a four-year university. For example, Boise State University turned down 800 students at BSU last fall who did not meet the school's entrance qualifications.

"Think of how many thousands of students are out there with no where to go," Fisher said.

As reported in today's Spokesman Review:

A controversial proposal to beef up Idaho's high school curriculum and require more math and science could be improved by backing away from specific courses, state Superintendent of Schools Marilyn Howard told lawmakers Thursday.

"The important question here is what it means to be an educated adult," Howard told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee. "We have to adjust our thinking away from course titles and toward standards."

Howard said she favors requiring four years of math for all high school students – but wants the choice of math courses left to local school districts, rather than being determined by the state.

She said that might even allow advanced math concepts to be incorporated into courses on woodworking or music. "We need to connect mathematics to what the students are doing, make it more relevant," she said. "It's a new sophistication to teaching that we haven't had."

Note: 1/3 of all school growth was in Meridian School District. Another 1/3 of the growth was in charter schools. The US Census Bureau had predicted growth in Meridian but had predicted school enrollment to be stagnant or to actually shrink. Those were areas where the cost of living was too high for young, working families to live.

As reported in today's Spokesman Review:

Idaho's public schools are seeing a surge in enrollment that means state lawmakers will have to ante up millions more this year or leave schools short this spring, legislative budget writers learned Thursday.

"This is an unprecedented level of growth we haven't seen in over a decade," state Department of Education finance expert Tim Hill told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee.

The schools are requesting an additional $5 million to avoid a shortfall this spring of $100 to $200 per classroom. That's just the first budget decision lawmakers will have to make when it comes to public schools. They'll also need to decide how to fund schools next year – a year in which Gov. Dirk Kempthorne is recommending the first-ever school budget over $1 billion.

Superintendent of Schools Marilyn Howard made her budget pitch to lawmakers Thursday, calling for raises for school teachers, new investments in school facilities, academics and student fitness, and more.

Howard is requesting a 6 percent increase for public schools, to $1.047 billion in state general funds. Kempthorne's proposal is for a 4.9 percent boost to $1.035 billion.

Members of the joint budget committee asked Howard what she thought of the Idaho Education Association's proposed initiative to raise the state sales tax by a penny to provide increased funding to schools. Howard said if the measure gave schools additional funding beyond what they receive to cover the basics, "I think we could see our districts sing. I think we'd see wonderful things happen."

The unexpected surge in school enrollment this year has added enough students to fill 270 classrooms – about 90 more than the state projected. Just over a third of that growth came in the Meridian School District, the state's largest, and another third was at charter schools.

A Boston area high school student filed a federal civil rights complaint against his school for discriminating against boys. "Among Anglin's allegations: Girls face fewer restrictions from teachers, like being able to wander the hallways without passes, and girls are rewarded for abiding by the rules, while boys' more rebellious ways are punished. Grading on homework, which sometimes includes points for decorating a notebook, also favor girls, according to Anglin's complaint, filed last month with the US Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights."

From Susan O

The number of public school students identified as having "specific learning disabilities" has nearly quadrupled in the last 30 years and constitutes nearly 43 percent of all students with disabilities. This category includes those with dyslexia and other disorders that interfere with the ability to perform school work.

How students obtain or don't obtain a disability designation in order to receive special education services is sometimes a matter of controversy. That controversy now seems to have spilled over into the other categories of disabilities, as two stories that appeared today illustrate.

Fourth-grader Brentson Duke has a severe peanut allergy. He had an attack last September from accidental exposure to peanuts at school. While officials of the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools considered what to do, they paid for seven weeks of home instruction for Brentson. Now, after staff training on Brentson's condition and a notice to other parents, the district cut off those funds and expected Brentson to return to school -- an option Brentson's mother was not prepared to risk. She removed Brentson from public school and is now home-schooling him.

"It's not cheap," she said. "But if it's keeping him from dying, I wouldn't care if it were $20,000."

School officials, backed by an opinion of the state attorney general, say Brentson's allergy does not qualify as a disability.

"I have no doubt, no anything, that we've not gone far beyond what we had to do," the school principal said.

Indiana high-schooler Nicky Ontiveros ran into a similar problem -- except his affliction is leukemia. Despite the fact that Nicky undergoes chemotherapy and radiation treatment and is under constant threat of infection, the attorney representing the Porter Township Schools stated that Nicky's leukemia does not meet the definition of a disability under state law. The school system denied Nicky home tutoring services on that basis. Nicky's parents have gone to court.

Complicated diagnoses and suitable responses are guaranteed to cause battles among reasonable people -- think of the bitter three-way fights between hospitals, patients, and HMOs. The delivery of special education services suffers from the same problem: the desire of those involved to make a complicated problem simple by asking, "Will we make money or lose money?"

From The Education Intelligence Agency.

Update from Bob Hieronymus at New Saint Andrews College:

CBN is in Moscow doing a five-minute feature piece on classical Christian education for airing in coming weeks on the 700 Club and CBN newscasts. They're here today and tomorrow. CBN News anchor Lee Webb met Roy Atwood during Roy's trip to the TRACS meeting in November when this story was born. Logos was one stop. They are also interviewing Roy Atwood, Doug Wilson, and Patch Blakey, along with students and local business people. I'm Lee's point of contact and will pass along the air dates when he nails that down.

The feature will be seen by one million viewers.

The Christian Broadcasting Network flew out a crew from Virginia Beach to take some footage and conduct interviews at Logos School today.

When I find out what date it will be nationally aired, I'll post it here.

I thought Gary Schroeder had been removed from the Education Committee.

You wouldn't know it by reading this list of bills he's proposed.

• S1281:  By Sens. Tom Gannon and Gary Schroeder Clarifies that in Charter School admissions procedures, when capacity is insufficient to enroll all pupils who submit a timely application, that the provisions of 33-5205, Idaho Code, take precedence over any other provisions of Idaho Code.

• S1282: By Sen. Gary Schroeder Requires that petitions to establish charter schools include statements describing the manner in which the Board of Directors of the charter school are to be elected.

• SJR104 By Sen. Gary Schroeder Provides for 2 separate councils of the State Board of Education; One would be the Council for Higher Education, the other the Council for Public Schools.

• S1285 By Sen. Gary Schroeder Establishes scholarships at Idaho’s public colleges and universities, based on merit, for individuals seeking degrees in mathematics, science and engineering. The scholarships shall be implemented and administered by the Office of the State Board of Education.

• S1241 By Sen. Gary Schroeder Provides a minimum age requirement for attendance in pre-kindergarten in the districts which conduct pre-kindergarten, but does not require a district to have pre-kindergarten. Would legally allow 4-year-olds to participate in pre-kindergarten programs in public schools. No fiscal impact on the general fund, as funds for pre-kindergarten programs come from private sources.

• S1253 By Sen. Gary Schroeder Amends Section 33-208, Idaho Code to require that all school districts shall have kindergarten. As all school districts currently do have kindergarten programs in place, there is no fiscal impact to the General Fund or local school districts.

From the Associated Press:

Two Democrats are working on an alternative to the state Board of Education's curriculum redesign plan that could delay changes in public education by at least a year.

Reps. Donna Boe of Pocatello and Donna Pence of Gooding want to establish an interim committee to come up with another plan -- one that takes into account the mountain of criticism provoked by the state board's proposal.

The goal is to upgrade public education in Idaho. Business leaders and educators say the state's high school graduates are unprepared for college. Policy-makers say Idaho college students have the highest freshman dropout rate in the nation.

...

Boe and Pence said Wednesday they hope to establish a committee -- made up of lawmakers, business leaders, policy-makers and educators -- that would spend time next summer gathering suggestions about ways to improve all public education, from kindergarten on.

Otherwise, trying to improve performance in the upper grades won't work, Boe said.

"If the kids come into middle school still not understanding the concept of math, they're not going to get it," she said.