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Feature
What's New
Innovations in the News
Phalen Lake Elementary School, St. Paul, Minnesota
The Phalen Lake Elementary School in St. Paul, Minnesota will begin integrating the Hmong Language and culture into its curriculum in April. The move is designed to respond to educational concerns of the district's growing Hmong population and retain students who might otherwise enroll in a nearby charter school with a Hmong-centered program.
One out of three children in the St. Paul public schools is Asian, many of them Hmong. As the Hmong population has grown in size and influence, more Hmong parents have called for opportunities for their children to retain their language, culture and customs. Some of these parents, disenchanted with public school offerings, have enrolled their children in the nearby Hope Academy Charter School, a Hmong-centered program.
At Phalen Lake, 45 percent of the students are Asian. A survey of all Phalen Lake parents found that 85 percent support the new language and culture curriculum.
Plans call for Phalen Lake's 640 students to study either Hmong or Spanish language and culture for 50 minutes of regular class time two days a week. Vocabulary and concepts that students are learning in their other classes will be reinforced and taught in their language classes. The program is being phased in starting this spring, and eventually all students will be able to take the curriculum. [From-Star Tribune] (Jan. 4)
Note: The featured program is innovative but does not yet 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.
What's New
From the White House
President Bush's 2004 budget again will demonstrate his administration's commitment to expanding education options for parents by including an estimated $756 million to help insure America's parents have more choices for their children. (Jan. 31)
From OII
Table shows amounts available, by Local Education Agency (LEA), for Title I parental choice-related transportation and supplemental educational services: Under the Title I statute (as reauthorized by the NCLB Act), a local education agency with schools that need improvement, corrective action, or restructuring must provide students attending those schools with the opportunity to attend a higher-performing school LEAs with schools in the second year of improvement or in corrective action or restructuring must offer their children the opportunity to receive supplemental educational services (tutoring or additional educational services provided outside the regular school program). "The law requires LEAs to use the equivalent of 20 percent of their Title I allocations to pay for school transportation related to the provision of the educational choice option and for supplemental educational services, so long as there is sufficient demand for choice and supplemental services. The State tables show the maximum amount that each affected LEA in the State must spend on choice-related transportation and supplemental educational services from its fiscal year 2002 Title I, part A allocation. [These amounts, however, are only estimates, because the LEAs' Title I allocations are the Department's initial calculations, which are revised by State educational agencies.] (Jan. 31)
Table shows maximum per-child amount available for Title I supplemental educational services, by Local Education Agency: The law also prescribes the per-child amount that LEAs must spend on supplemental educational services. In making supplemental educational services available to an individual child, the LEA must spend the lesser of:
- "the amount of the LEA's allocation under Title I, Part A, divided by the number of school-aged children living in poverty in the district (as determined from US Census Bureau date), or
- "the actual cost of the services to be received by the child. "The State tables show the maximum amount that each LEA in the State must provide, per-child, for supplemental services from its FY 2002 allocation (calculated as the LEA's Title I allocation divided by the number of children from low-income families in the district). These amounts are, again, estimates, for the same reasons described above." (Jan. 3)
The Gilder Lehman Institute of American History is accepting applications for thirteen history seminars in the summer of 2003. These seminars are targeted to public, parochial, and independent schoolteachers. Each week-long course is limited to 30 participants selected through competitive application. Room, board, and stipends of $500 are provided to each participant. Deadline: March 28, 2003. The Gilder Lehrman Institute is one of the national history organizations that partners with school districts that receive grants under the Teaching American History program. For applications and more information, call 646-366-9666. (Jan. 30)
From the U.S. Department of Education
The most recent broadcast of "Education News Parents Can Use" paid tribute to the first anniversary of the No Child Left Behind Act. Secretary Rod Paige and Deputy Under Secretary for Innovation and Improvement Nina S. Rees were guests on the show along with parents, teachers, and activists from across the country. Future broadcasts will address citizenship and service (Feb. 18), teacher quality (March 18), special education (April 15), educational technology (May 20), and summer reading (June 17). (Jan. 21)
Innovations in the News
American History
Teaching history does matter and here are some ways to make history important in classrooms. [More-Savannah NOW] (Jan. 15)
Charter Schools
The number of charter schools has grown from 0 to almost 3,000 since the fist one opened its doors 10 years ago. As the charter school movement has grown, we've learned some lessons. [More-Christian Science Monitor] (Jan. 7)
Arts
Experts will demonstrate arts programs at a national festival to highlight arts and education. Participants will include the Smithsonian, Library of Congress, and National Gallery of Art. [More-Traverse City Record-Eagle, MI] (Jan. 27)
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Last Modified: 06/11/2007
