Volume II
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Feature
Toledo Public School Systems Supplemental Educational Services
What's New
OII publishes Innovations in Education: Successful Charter Schools; Chancellor Beacon Academies merges with Imagine Schools; Secretary Paige speaks at the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities Summit; Double the Numbers: Increasing Postsecondary Credentials for Underrepresented Youth warns that a high school diploma can no longer be an educational endpoint; Black Issues in Higher Education honored the first recipients of the John Hope Franklin awards; the 2004 International VSA arts Festival was held June 9-12 in Washington, DC; Susan Patrick of the U.S. Department of Education is a panelist for a roundtable on virtual education.
Innovations in the News
All graduates from the SEED charter school in Washington, DC, will go to college next year, plus information on civic education, charter schools, parental involvement, and supplemental services.
Toledo Teachers and Parents Team Up to Get the Word Out About Supplemental Services
"The NCLB team is coming on Monday ... at 9:00 AM to sign up parents for tutoring services ... We are not sure how many parents will come during this block of time, so our desire is to be customer friendly and to meet with each parent as quickly as possible ... Thank you for your team spirit." This notice was sent to teachers in the Toledo Public School System. With customer service in mind, the Toledo Public School System implements, and diligently informs parents about, supplemental educational services (SES). Supplemental educational services are free tutoring or other extra academic help offered to students in Title I schools that are in need of improvement; are offered in reading, math, or other core subjects; and are provided before or after school, on weekends, or in the summer. Designed to aid in closing the significant academic achievement gap between lower-income and more advantaged students, supplemental services are a key element of No Child Left Behind.
Beginning in 2000, Toledo Public Schools made supplemental educational services available to the district's lowest-performing students, who were clustered in schools that serve the largest concentrations of high-poverty pupils. When NCLB passed in 2002, most district leaders saw the law's goals converge with their own reform efforts, so it is no coincidence that Toledo's current SES mission so closely reflects the goals outlined in No Child Left Behind.
Toledo used the NCLB provisions to craft solutions about where to locate supplemental educational services, how to staff them, and how to incorporate them into the school district's operations before Toledo even received official notification from the state to move ahead with the program. As the SES endeavor grew to be more complex, the district appointed a full-time No Child Left Behind facilitator to aid in the unique challenges that come with implementing such programs in multi-ethnic, multi-income school systems.
Since the ultimate goal of supplemental services is to improve student performance, district leaders also developed a "Supplemental Educational Services Agreement," identifying what the providers and the district will do to meet this goal. The agreement includes standard learning objectives, timelines, and performance measures to keep parents, the school district, and the state informed of student progress.
Creative, comprehensive program objectives on a school district's part, however, do not always translate into high parent involvement or student enrollment. In the first year that Toledo public schools offered supplemental services, only 30 of 1,500 eligible families responded to the initial invitation. This low response led Toledo district leaders to realize that they had to make parents and students aware of the positive effects that supplemental services can have. Otherwise, few would respond to such an opportunity. As Secretary of Education Rod Paige has warned, "This opportunity is like the proverbial tree falling in the forest—if no one hears about it, it's nothing but a missed opportunity."
Since Toledo's past attendance records at parent-teacher conferences were quite high, Toledo's NCLB facilitator proposed that her staff prepare individually addressed classroom packets to be distributed by teachers to parents during the conferences. This way, teachers could explain how supplemental services benefit students, and they could encourage parents to register their students. Additionally, the packets were available in English and Spanish, so that even if there were a language barrier between parent and teacher, the parent could still learn about the programs.
With participation numbers increasing from 96 students in 2000 to 500 in the next school year, Toledo Public Schools and the supplemental educational services staff agree that this school-based marketing is essential to the success of the program.
Note: The Toledo Public School Systems' supplemental educational services program is one of the case studies in OII's publication, Innovations in Education: Creating Strong Supplemental Educational Services Programs. This program is innovative, but does not necessarily have evidence of general effectiveness from a rigorous evaluation. The success of the program may not be replicable, depending on unique conditions in differing locations.
Resources:
- Toledo Public School System
- Supplemental Educational Services
- Innovations in Education: Creating Strong Supplemental Services Programs
What's New
Innovations in Education: Successful Charter Schools
OII has published Innovations in Education: Successful Charter Schools. The book features eight of the nation's highest-achieving charter schools and describes their promising practices for student success. (June 15)
Chancellor Beacon Academies/Imagine Schools Merger
Chancellor Beacon Academies, a Miami-based charter school program, has merged with Arlington, Virginia's Imagine Schools, Inc. Now known as "Imagine Schools," the program will serve 2,100 students in four South Florida schools. (June 9)
Secretary Paige's Remarks on the Importance of NCLB and HBCUs
Secretary Paige remarked on the importance of No Child Left Behind legislation to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in his speech to educators at the White House Initiative on HBCUs Summit. (June 9)
New Book on the Importance of a College Degree for Low-Income Students
Double the Numbers: Increasing Postsecondary Credentials for Underrepresented Youth, a new book from Harvard Press, warns that a high school diploma is no longer an educational endpoint for America's youth. The book makes a call to action to "double the numbers" of low-income or minority youth who go on to complete postsecondary education or training. (2004)
John Hope Franklin Distinguished Contributors to Higher Education Award
Black Issues in Higher Education, a news source on college issues affecting African Americans and other minority groups, honored the first recipients of the John Hope Franklin Distinguished Contributors to Higher Education awards. The winners—The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Sybil Mobley, and David Levering Lewis—were acknowledged for creating access to and expanding educational opportunities for minority groups, as well as for their exemplary scholarship and research. (June 17)
2004 International VSA arts Festival
The 2004 International VSA arts Festival was held June 9-12 in Washington, DC President George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush were the honorary chairs. Panasonic sponsored the Festival's Odyssey Stage at Union Station for performing artists; Delta Air Lines sponsored the festival Volunteer Program; and WAMU public radio station was a festival media sponsor.
Roundtable on Virtual Education
Susan Patrick, the U.S. Department of Education's director of the Office of Educational Technology, will be a panelist for the Heller Reports roundtable on virtual education on July 9. (June 16)
Xavier University of Louisiana Offers Fast Track to Teaching as Part of Peace Corps' Fellow/USA
Xavier University of Louisiana is the first historically black university to participate in the Peace Corps' Fellow/USA program. One option for Fellows who are interested in teaching math, science, or special education is the Fast Track to Teaching program that allows them to earn teacher certification and to pursue a master of arts in teaching degree. (June 21)
Innovations in the News
Charter Schools
The SEED residential charter school in Washington, DC, is graduating its first class. Ninety percent of the students come from homes below the poverty line, but 100 percent of the class is going to college next year. [More-Christian Science Monitor] (June 14)
The Bay Mills Community College Board of Regents authorized the establishment of two new charter schools in Michigan: The Great Oaks Academy in Madison Heights and the Academy of Warren, both slated to open in the fall. [More-Detroit Free Press] (June 11)
In Harlem, N.Y., eight new charter schools will be created next year, and five more will move into new homes. The city plans to build 50 new charter schools over five years. [More-News Day] (June 10)
Civic Education
Students from East San Jose and East Palo Alto, CA, recently returned from a weeklong educational program to Washington, DC, coordinated by the Close Up Foundation. The group was given a $30,000 donation by founders of an organization that focuses on providing opportunities for K-12 students. [More-Biz Yahoo] (June 7)
Parental Involvement
The school district in Hattiesburg, MS, created a community group to focus attention on parental involvement in education. Known as Community for Kids, the group was formed in response to the school board's approval of a switch from an eight-period schedule to a six-period day. [More-Hattiesburg American] (June 14)
Educators in Midland County, MI, agree that parental involvement is key in the substance abuse battle. The county offers parenting tips and makes adults aware of what is going on at school. [More-Mlive] (June 13)
Reading
The Reading Rewards Program in Lincoln County, OR, has encouraged students to read by offering incentives. For the 2003-2004 school year, students who read receive a $5 coupon toward the purchase of a new book at participating bookstores. The program is funded by Walter Behrens, a German immigrant who arrived in the United States when he was 9 years old. [More-Newport News] (June 9)
VIZ LLC, a publisher and distributor of Japanese animé content for North American audiences, has announced a partnership with Reading Is Fundamental Inc. The goal of the partnership is to help raise literacy rates of children whose first language is not English or who live in poverty-stricken neighborhoods. [More-Comic Book Resources] (June 2)
Supplemental Services
The Rochester Teachers Association and the Toledo Federation of Teachers [see feature] have both become approved supplemental services providers in their states and are working with their districts to tutor children. Both districts are showcased in OII's Innovations in Education guide about supplemental services. [More-Education Week] (June 16)
Elluminate Inc. announced that the Florida Virtual School (FLVS), an established provider of virtual K-12 education, will use Elluminate Live! Academic Services to provide students with online, real-time math tutoring. [More-Marketwire] (June 7)
Kaplan Inc. announced that it has become the exclusive K-12 partner for EDU Inc., a service for HBCUs that helps students complete the Black College Common Application. Through the Kaplan/EDU Inc. partnership, students can attend college preparation classes with Kaplan. The company also helps students obtain the transcripts, test scores, recommendations, financial aid applications, and essays they need to complete the college application process. [More-Biz.yahoo] (May 28)
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Last Modified: 10/31/2007
