i3 Grant Provides STEM Graduation Path for Colorado Students

Posted on January 18, 2013 by Guest Blogger

Skyline High School students show their math and science skills through trebuchet building during the summer session of STEM Academy. Eighty-eight students participated in this summer’s 4-week program funded by an i3 grant.

Thanks to the implementation of a five-year, $3.6 million Investing in Innovation (i3) grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Skyline High School in Longmont, Colo., is getting a second chance.  Six years ago, Skyline was considered a “ghetto school with low expectations and low requirements,” said principal Patty Quinones. Today, everyone is focused on the bright future ahead. “It is exciting now to see families talking realistically about college,” she said.

The exciting changes at Skyline are in large part due to the school’s STEM Academy program—made possible through the 2010 i3 grant. The Academy focuses on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) curriculum and includes collaboration between the St. Vrain Valley School District and the University of Colorado Boulder. The Academy’s goal is to provide 400 high school students with an alternative path to graduation through a STEM certificate program. This program develops students’ 21st century skills to prepare them for future career opportunities.

The i3 STEM Academy project, which will operate through the end of the 2014–15 school year, also addresses the literacy and mathematics achievement needs of 400 elementary and 550 middle schools students in feeder schools to Skyline High School. Working with the elementary and middle school students ensures better preparation for the STEM curricula in the high school program.  As a development grant in the i3 program, this K–12 project intends, by the end of its fifth year, to sustain its efforts across the three grade levels, and to replicate them in schools throughout the St. Vrain Valley School District.

During the STEM Academy’s 2009-10 inaugural year, 103 ninth- and tenth-grade students began the program; during this school year there are 291 students, with 41 graduating this spring. Students who satisfy the requirements of the STEM Academy program are guaranteed admission to the University of Colorado at Boulder’s College of Engineering and Applied Science because of the school’s direct partnership with the University.

Skyline High School student works on her field rocket project during the summer session of STEM Academy.

Regina Renaldi, St. Vrain’s executive director of priority programs, says that the unique requirement of the i3 grant has built bridges between the business community and the St. Vrain school community.  “Our partnership [with corporations] allows students the opportunity to collaborate with experts in the field; students participate in roundtables discussions and design challenges where brainstorming and feedback are from engineers and scientists,” she said.  “Students aren’t interested in simulations; they want real-world opportunities for thinking, learning and problem-solving.”

The director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, Cecilia Muñoz, recently visited Skyline High School for a roundtable discussion on Career and Technical Education with Colorado educators and business leaders. The roundtable began after a tour of the school, which included visiting with elementary and high school students.  Promising to share what she saw  with her colleagues in the West Wing of the White House, Muñoz said, “I can assure you I’ll take this back to Washington. It’s going to inform the work that we’re doing in the educational sphere.”

While it is still too early to conclude how the i3 project has affected long-term student outcomes, the i3 grant has enabled a school that was once dismissed as a lost cause to have a positive impact on the outcomes of its current students. Through this program, these students now see their dreams of going to college as a reality. “We are doing true transformation here; not just shifting kids from one school to another,” said Don Haddad, superintendent of St. Vrain Valley School District. “This is what real reform looks like.”

Diana Huffman is a public affairs specialist in ED’s Denver Regional Office

On Dec 11, 2012, the U.S. Department of Education announced that the St. Vrain Valley School District was one of 16 winners of the Race to the Top – District Competition.

Posted in Headlines, Innovation, News, Science and Math (STEM) | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Community Partnerships for the Digital Learning Revolution

Posted on January 17, 2013 by Michael Robbins

I wasn’t surprised to learn that my hometown of Huntsville, Alabama –The Rocket City – has launched one of the largest school district transitions to digital learning in the nation. I recently visited Huntsville to learn from their experience, and my conversations there reinforced for me that community and family partnerships are essential for the success of digital learning. We have unprecedented investment in education technology, but we don’t yet have the corresponding developments in partnerships to help transitions to digital learning succeed.

Boy with tablet deviceCommunity partnerships are key to realizing a digital learning revolution that is more than trading textbooks for tablets. This is an inflection point in education – a critical opportunity to transform how schools, parents, and community-based organizations collaborate to ignite student curiosity and engagement in learning.

Community and family partnerships can also reduce the possibility that digital learning transitions will exacerbate achievement gaps. Students that face the greatest challenges in and outside school need comprehensive supports to evolve so that digital learning doesn’t further disadvantage them.

Our community organizations, including faith-based organizations, have tremendous opportunities to support and shape the digital learning transition through four key areas of collaboration:

    • Expanding access and digital literacy;
    • Bridging between schools, families, and communities;
    • Service and volunteering in education; and
    • Creating new avenues for anytime-anywhere learning.

Expanding access and digital literacy.

Many students don’t have access outside school to computers, broadband connections, and basic technical support. The Obama Administration is working with a public-private partnership called Connect2Compete to expand low-cost internet, computers, and digital literacy instruction to low-income families.  Connect2Compete is building a network of local community partners, and community organizations can go here to learn more and link up with their efforts.

Bridging between schools, families, and communities.

Community and faith organizations can bridge the gap between home and school with their strong connections to families. Internet-based student data and learning management systems can improve collaboration between teachers, families, and community partners. Community-based organizations like Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri, a Together for Tomorrow challenge winner, are using joint data systems with schools to focus student support services where they have the greatest impact.

A new report from the Department on Expanding Evidence Approaches for Learning in a Digital World, highlights the need for more efforts that connect community partners with school data systems. The report emphasizes that “young people learn and develop in a wide range of settings,” and we need to better use data “to support the full range of student needs and interests—both inside and outside schools and classrooms—to improve learning outcomes.”

Service and volunteering in education.

Digital learning systems are making it possible for partners to assist students using lessons developed by educators that are aligned with the school curriculum. This is expanding the range of volunteers that are confident and effective at assisting students inside and outside the classroom. Service and volunteer partners can also advance student learning through digital tools such as remote connections into classrooms, Open Education Resources, and internet-connected real-world experiences.

Digital partnerships aren’t limited to academic assistance, and can boost other key student outcomes.  iMentor is using digital learning to improve student behavior and increase college access. Their internet-based systems help train and support adult volunteers, who mentor students both virtually and in-person.

Creating new avenues for anytime-anywhere learning

Digital learning partnerships can help community-based organizations transform American education by expanding learning beyond the classroom. “Anytime-anywhere learning” is a key goal in our education technology plan and schools can’t accomplish this goal alone. Schools can partner with community-based initiatives like the HIVE Learning Networks that use new technologies and media to better connect students to their interests, aspirations, communities, and careers.

Community partners are using digital badges to change how and where students earn academic credit. For example, the Providence After School Alliance is developing digital badges as a central component of their credit-bearing afterschool and internship programs.

Getting started with digital learning partnerships.

The Department is participating in Digital Learning Day on February 6. Community organizations can learn more and jumpstart their digital learning partnerships at digitallearningday.org.

There are valuable information resources at our Office of Education Technology web page and Epic-ed, our initiative to support digital learning transitions. If you are already part of a digital learning partnership, share your examples on our Facebook page at facebook.com/edpartners.

The guidebooks on community partnerships and digital learning are yet to be written, so it is vital that community partners, families, schools, and education technology initiatives work together to develop their pathways to digital learning partnerships. Together we can ensure that digital learning boosts engagement and learning for all of our students. Education technology can help us create a community culture of education success, where everyone sees education as his or her responsibility, and there are clear and compelling pathways to assist.

Michael Robbins is senior advisor for nonprofit partnerships at the U.S. Department of Education

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Nevada School District Makes Its Budget An Open Book

Posted on January 17, 2013 by Joe Barison

Clark County School District (CCSD) in Nevada believes you can’t judge a book by its cover – at least not if that cover is on the district’s budget book. And so, in the interest of transparency, accountability and communication, that is one cover that has been entirely removed.

On January 14, CCSD Superintendent of Schools Dwight D. Jones pulled back the curtain to unveil a new look at the inner workings of the district’s budget. Jones directed that his district’s website post the kind of budget information that others might reserve for closed-door meetings.

But now, with the CCSD website’s new “Open Book” section, the Greater Las Vegas community has a virtual seat at the superintendent’s conference table.

Screen shot of the Clark County website

Jones explained why the change was needed. “There wasn’t a clear, consistent way to show where we were spending our resources and what kind of a return we were getting on our investment,” he said. “I wanted to build a better trust with the community and kind of put my money where my mouth was in being more transparent.”

The difference is visually dramatic. The everyday lay person can now see exactly the categories where the district spends its money, then click on that category to find a further breakdown of cost. “You can see how every dollar is allocated, and we provide simple comparisons to other districts our size,” Jones said.

But it is not only the district that sees the improvement in communication. “The new, Open Book presentation [of the school-district budget] is a lot more intuitive, so you can get to data quickly and easily,” said Cass Palmer, President and CEO, United Way of Southern Nevada. “I think transparency in any form of government is imperative. It focuses on ‘Here are the dollars, here are the numbers, you know what you’re spending.’”

The dollars are readily accessible on the district’s website. And the numbers add up to tell a story. “I think when people see how this district ranks in administrator expenditures per student, people will be surprised. They’ll see that 89 percent of our resources go to educators’ salaries and benefits, and that will be a surprise,” Jones said. “We want to break down myths.”

Naturally, good communication is a two-way street, which Jones recognizes. “We also have a place [at the Open Book portal] where you can give your feedback. The schools ultimately belong to the public. And the public should have a way to be part of the dialogue about how we’re doing our funding.”

You can explore the Clark County School District’s innovative website portal by going to: http://ccsd.net/district/open-book/

Joe Barison is the director of communications and outreach for ED’s San Francisco Regional Office.

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Now is the Time to Reduce Gun Violence in Schools and Communities

Posted on January 16, 2013 by Arne Duncan
Secretary Duncan speaks with Obama

President Obama listens to Secretary Duncan during a meeting to discuss efforts to address gun violence in Vice President Biden's office at the White House, Dec. 17, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

I have been proud to serve President Obama and this administration since day one, but today was one of my proudest days. The actions that the President is taking and proposing to reduce gun violence echo what America’s educators say they need to better protect and support students in school and in their communities. I thank the President and Vice President Biden for leading this critical national conversation. America’s schools are among the safest places in our country. The President’s comprehensive approach will make schools and communities safer.

We will never fully understand why 20 first-graders and six educators were gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary School—or why still more students and educators lost their lives at Columbine, Chardon or Red Lake high schools, Westside Middle School, Virginia Tech or the many other campuses and communities in our country where guns have cut short dreams and created fear. We can, however, take a number of common-sense steps to help prevent future tragedies.

As the President called for today, we can limit access to the deadliest guns and ammunition, and we can put in checks to keep guns out of the wrong hands. We can also provide new resources, so schools can develop and implement comprehensive emergency management plans.

We can expand student support systems by allowing communities to decide what they need most, including more school resource officers, psychologists, social workers and counselors. A renewed commitment to students’ mental and emotional well-being is key.

Helping schools reduce bullying, drug abuse, other forms of violence and problem behaviors is also vital. And as we seek to prevent tragedies, we cannot be reluctant to do research and collect data so we can understand the causes of gun violence.

Our goals are simple: fewer children dying from gun violence and fewer children living in fear. Harder to realize are the policies, actions, and value changes necessary to reach those goals.

Today, looking into the eyes of parents who have lost children due to gun violence, I am more committed than ever, and the President is, too. Those parents’ unimaginable heartbreak and extraordinary strength must motivate us to act. Now is the time. Our children, families, educators, communities and our country deserve better. We can’t let them down.

Arne Duncan is U.S. Secretary of Education

Posted in Headlines, News, Schools and Community, Teachers | 15 Comments

President Obama’s Plan to Make Our Schools Safer

Posted on January 16, 2013 by Cameron Brenchley

Earlier today, President Obama introduced a new plan to keeps guns out of the wrong hands, make schools safer, and increase access to mental health services. “While reducing gun violence is a complicated challenge,” President Obama said during the announcement. “Protecting our children from harm shouldn’t be a divisive one,” he said.

now is the time imageAdmitting that we won’t be able to stop every violent act, the President introduced a plan that includes four common-sense steps the country can take right now to protect our children and communities:

    1. Closing background check loopholes to keep guns out of the dangerous hands;
    2. Banning military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and taking other common sense steps to reduce gun violence;
    3. Making schools safer; and
    4. Increasing access to mental health services.

The President’s plan to provide new resources that communities can use to make schools safer echoes what educators have been saying they need in order to protect students, including:

    • Hire school resource officers — specially trained police officers who not only enforce the law but act as teachers and mentors.
    • Hire school psychologists, social workers, and counselors to support students struggling with mental health issues and help avert crises before they occur.
    • Purchase school safety equipment, like security cameras and secure locking systems.

The Administration will also work with school districts across the country to ensure that every school has a high-quality emergency plan in place, and the President’s plan includes a proposal to help 8,000 schools put in place proven strategies to reduce bullying, drug abuse, violence, and other problem behaviors, and to gather and share best practices on school discipline.

Read Secretary Arne Duncan’s statement about the President’s plan, and click here to read more about the President’s plan, included additional details on the education proposals listed above.

Visit ED’s Readiness Emergency Management for Schools Technical Assistance Center for resources already available, including Creating and Updating School Emergency Management Plans.

Cameron Brenchley is director of digital strategy at the U.S. Department of Education

Posted in Headlines, News, Schools and Community, Teachers | Tagged | 7 Comments

Join us in a National Day of Service

Posted on January 15, 2013 by Cameron Brenchley

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said that “Everybody can be great … because anybody can serve.” On January 19, the country will honor the life and legacy of Dr. King, and what better way to do so than to volunteer during the National Day of Service. People from across the country are pledging a commitment to serve during MLK Day and throughout the year, and here is how you can get involved:

For more information visit 2013pic.org/service and mlkday.gov for information on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Posted in Headlines, News | 2 Comments

2012 Tax Time: Don’t Forget Your 1098-E Tax Form

Posted on January 14, 2013 by Cameron Brenchley

It’s tax time once again, and if you made federal student loan payments in 2012, you may be eligible to deduct a portion of the interest you paid on your 2012 federal tax return. Student loan interest payments are reported on IRS Form 1098-E, Student Loan Interest Statement.

1040_Form_Computer_MonitorYour student loan servicer (the entity you make payments to) will provide you a copy of your 1098-E if the interest you paid in 2012 exceeded $600. Your servicer may send you your 1098-E via U.S. Postal Service or electronically. Check with your servicer if you haven’t yet received your 1098-E for 2012. If you had multiple loan servicers in 2012, you will receive a separate 1098-E from each servicer.

If you’re not sure who your loan servicer is, you can look it up at www.nslds.ed.gov or call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243; TTY 1-800-730-8913). To see a list of Federal Student Aid servicers for the Direct Loan Program and for FFEL Program Loans purchased by the U.S. Department of Education, go to our Loan Servicer page.

For more information about student loan interest deduction, visit the IRS’s Tax Benefits for Education: Information Center.

Posted in Federal Student Aid, Headlines, News | Tagged | 8 Comments

Top 3 FAFSA FAQs

Posted on January 8, 2013 by Nicole Callahan

Completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the first step in accessing the more than $150 billion available in federal student aid. Since the 2013-14 FAFSA launched, there are a few questions we’ve seen popping up more than any others. Let’s go through them.

How can I complete the FAFSA if my parents or I haven’t filed my 2012 taxes yet?

FAFSA ImageYou CAN complete the 2013-14 FAFSA even if you or your parents haven’t filed your 2012 taxes yet. Here’s what you or your parents can do in your respective sections of the FAFSA:

  1. When the FAFSA asks: “Have you completed a 2012 income tax return?” Select “Will file.”
  2. Estimate income.
    • If your 2012 income is similar to your 2011 income, use your 2011 income tax return to provide estimates for questions about your income.
    • If your income is not similar, click Income Estimator for assistance estimating your adjusted gross income, and answer the remaining questions about your income to the best of your ability.
  1. After you file your 2012 tax return, go to www.fafsa.gov and correct your information.
    • Note: Once you complete your 2012 taxes, you may also be eligible to use the FAFSA’s IRS Data Retrieval Tool to automatically transfer your tax return information from the IRS into the FAFSA.

When is the FAFSA deadline?

States, schools, and the federal government each have their own FAFSA filing deadlines . It is important that you research all of these deadlines and complete the FAFSA by whichever deadline comes first. That being said, some types of financial aid are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, so we recommend you complete the FAFSA as soon as possible in order to maximize the amount of financial aid you can receive.

Which FAFSA should I complete?

When you log into www.fafsa.gov, you will be given two different options: “Start a 2013-14 FAFSA” and “Start a 2012-13 FAFSA.” Which should you choose?

    • If you’ll be attending college between July 1, 2013 and June 30, 2014 select “Start a 2013-14 FAFSA.”
    • If you’ll be attending college between July 1, 2012 and June 30, 2013 select “Start a 2012-13 FAFSA.”
    • If you are applying for a summer session, or just don’t know which application to complete, check with the college you are planning to attend.

For more information about FAFSA, visit studentaid.gov/fafsa.

Posted in Federal Student Aid, Headlines, News | Tagged | 1 Comment

Colleges and Universities Lead the Way in Sustainability

Posted on January 8, 2013 by Andrea Falken

A USGBC Students group at the University of California-San Diego helps to divert waste from the landfill during freshman move-in for their ‘Don’t Be Trashy’ event.

Over the past year, ED has highlighted the exemplary efforts of K-12 schools to reduce environmental impact and costs; improve health and wellness; and teach effective environmental and sustainability education. However, healthy, safe, cost-efficient facilities, practices and learning are not limited to primary and secondary educations. In many ways, colleges and universities, and their students, have been the vanguards of the sustainability movement. Here are some of the ways post-secondary institutions are making fantastic strides toward sustainability goals:

Arizona State University’s Global Institute of Sustainability offers trans-disciplinary sustainability degree programs in business, design, technology, engineering, law, humanities, social sciences, and public affairs, among other subjects.

At the University of California, Santa Barbara, students voted in 2006 to self-levy a tax of $2.60 per quarter, contributing approximately $182,000 a year toward The Green Initiative Fund.

At Portland State University in Ore., the Institute for Sustainable Solutions hosts an annual International EcoDistrict Summit. The Institute’s 2013 Solutions Generator offers awards for up to 16 groups of students to design innovative solutions to pressing sustainability issues.

The College of Lake County, in Grayslake, Ill., works to facilitate important sustainability conversations for the community through the annual County Green conference. In addition, the college offers faculty professional development courses in integrating sustainability into classes.

At Maine’s Unity College, students live in one of the first super-efficient, certified “passive house” student residence in the country, and built a campus root cellar and animal barn. Its Environmental Citizen Curriculum engages students of every major with sustainability science and environmental challenges.

At Furman University in Greenville, S.C., the Shi Center, a demonstration site for different sustainable technologies, has attracted over a dozen national and regional sponsors. With a $2.5 million Department of Energy grant, the school will replace all of its 11 aging heat pumps with ground source geothermal varieties by 2014.

At De Anza College in Cupertino, Calif., students can join one of many environmental committees and enroll in sustainability-focused classes. The college offers reduced rates on public transport and bike rentals.

In Muncie, Ind., Ball State University boasts the largest geothermal heating and cooling system of its kind in the nation. When completed, the system will allow the university to save $2 million per year in operating costs and cut its carbon footprint roughly in half.

At Sterling College in Craftsbury Common, Vt., 20 percent of food is raised and harvested by students in campus gardens, fields, farm, forests, and orchards. What products can’t be grown on campus comes from local, sustainable, organic farms. The Sterling Farm and Gardens serve as laboratories for best practices in sustainable agriculture.

These are only a few examples of two and four-year colleges and universities reducing environmental impact and costs; improving health and wellness; and graduating engaged environmental citizens. And students are taking notice: according to the Princeton Review, 68 percent of likely college applicants say a college or universities’ commitment to sustainability would affect their decision to attend.

View more resources and webinars for all schools here.  Connect with the ED-Green Ribbon Schools network on Facebook. Sign up for the ED-GRS newsletter.

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Language and Learning on the Border

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Guest Blogger

The RESPECT Project, a vision for transforming teaching and leading, is the result of hundreds of conversations with thousands of educators across the country. The Department of Education’s Teaching Ambassador Fellows (TAFs) are continuing to talk with teachers throughout the country about the RESPECT Project and have reached out to other important stakeholders as well. This month the Fellows travelled to Arizona and New Mexico, including a visit by Kareen Borders, Toni Hull, Cindy Apalinski with a group of stakeholders in Columbus, N.M., (Deming Public School District).

School Crosswalk Sign“Unique”, “determined”, “challenging”, “amazing place.” These are just some of the phrases that parents, teachers, administrators and community members used to describe Columbus Elementary School in Columbus, N.M., during RESPECT discussions last month.

A border school located three miles from the Mexican border, Columbus faces unique challenges that include students who are predominantly living in poverty and who are English language learners. The remoteness of the school from students‘ homes also places extra pressure on educators and families.

Despite the American promise of equal opportunity, children of poverty and children of color often lack equal access to educational opportunities. Secretary Arne Duncan recently addressed the opportunity gap when he said, “In America, in 2012, children of color not only confront an achievement gap, they confront an opportunity gap that, too often, is unacceptably wide.” Yet, we found Columbus to be overflowing with hope, happiness, academic rigor and a commitment to bicultural education.

For all of the real challenges to ensuring educational equity, we saw examples of culturally responsive education, rigorous classroom instruction, and structures that are reducing the opportunity gap.  Principal Hector Madrid affirmed that these children deserve the best education. “We do everything we can to make education possible for our students since they are American citizens,” he said.

Classes that include dual language instruction, heritage studies, and rigorous core classes provide a holistic approach that includes recognition of the uniqueness of each student along with high expectations. Teachers plan together and present lessons in Spanish and English. During a math class visit, I observed first-graders working collaboratively on math problems, working one on one with the teacher and principal, and explaining their answers to each other.

When asked what she thought of her school, one first-grader responded, “I like it here. I get to learn and teach my friends. I’ll show you.” Those three simple sentences spoke volumes to me. She feels safe and nurtured in her school and quite simply likes it. She recognizes that she is learning and also has the opportunity to work collaboratively with her peers–a valuable skill. And, she holds the belief that her learning is valuable and can and should be communicated to others.

Being a part of two cultures, two languages, two countries, will give these children a unique grounding—one that definitely allows them to bring multiple perspectives to the table. One of the roundtable participants summed it up by saying, “There’s a lot of respect in Columbus. We are bi-national and bi-cultural.” This recognition of the importance of multicultural perspectives is a step in the right direction of eliminating the opportunity gap.

As classes ended, I watched the children as they bounced out of class, skipped to the buses, laughed and chatted while swinging backpacks, to return home for the evening. In the morning, they will be welcomed by teachers, principals, and an entire educational community committed to closing their opportunity gap.

Dr. Kareen Borders

Dr. Kareen Borders is a Regional Teaching Ambassador Fellow from the Peninsula School District in Gig Harbor, Washington.

View a video of Principal Hector Madrid’s feedback about the RESPECT Project.

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Teacher Cabinets: Bringing Teacher Voice to the Education Reform Conversation

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Guest Blogger

As a U.S. Department of Education Teaching Ambassador Fellow, one of the many roles I am lucky enough to engage in is that of a conduit between America’s teachers and the Department of Education (ED). I get to sit down with teachers all across the country–sometimes virtually, but often in person–and hear how things are going in their classrooms, in their schools, and in their districts. Then I present that feedback to policy and program folks at ED, giving them critical information to process and, in many cases, act upon.

This formula is singularly responsible for a recent initiative coming out of ED called the RESPECT Project. RESPECT aims to transform the teaching profession so that teachers are as well prepared, developed, compensated and respected as other professionals. One result of this movement is a short vision document written by teachers that outlines ways the teaching profession must change if it hopes to be on par with other respected professions in this country.

Highly visible in this document–and certainly pushed to the front in many of the teacher roundtables in which I have been involved–is the importance of teacher voice in the ongoing conversation about reform. For too long the educators on the ground have lacked an effective way to directly inform and influence education policy and programs at the federal, state and district level. Many of those serving in education offices may not have seen the inside of a classroom from a teacher’s eye view, and it is important they understand our view as they develop and implement policies that affect us in the classroom.

The good news is that recently more and more states have begun to realize the importance of listening to teachers and have made plans to bring the wisdom and experience of teachers into the education reform movement by creating teacher cabinets.

Most recently, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, proposed the the formation of a Virginia Teacher Cabinet, and other states have similar efforts under development. Virginia’s Teacher Cabinet will be comprised of teachers from each superintendent region of the Commonwealth, will be led by the Virginia Teacher of the Year, and will provide an annual report to the governor on the “State of Teaching in Virginia.”

As a Virginia public school teacher, I am excited about the opportunity for fellow educators to be able to lend their invaluable experiences and insights to state-wide reform efforts. I believe this will serve as the crucial catalyst to move reform-talks into reform-action. And as more states follow suit with their own versions of these teacher-led panels–which will undoubtedly take place–I firmly expect a wave of teacher reform to roll over our country, transforming this beloved profession into what it deserves to be.

Mike Humphreys

Mike Humphreys is a 2012-2013 Classroom Teaching Ambassador Fellow who teaches physical education in Arlington, Va.

Posted in Headlines, News, Teachers, Teaching Profession | Tagged , | 17 Comments

Education Datapalooza: Unleashing the Power of Open Data to Help Students, Parents, and Teachers

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Richard Culatta

Imagine new tools to help students choose a college that is right for them and their family.  Or imagine an easy-to-read virtual dashboard for parents to track the academic performance of their children.  Or imagine a digital file that makes it easier for children of active military and for foster youth to make the transition to a new school.

These are the kinds of advances that were on display at the White House last fall, as more than 150 of America’s entrepreneurs, software developers, education experts, and policy makers come together for an Education Datapalooza. The gathering was a chance to celebrate new products, services, and apps—all built with freely available data from the government and other sources—that have the potential to help American students succeed and that empower students and their families to make informed educational decisions. Notable among the day’s many impressive announcements:

  • Over 78 million people are now able to download their own Federal student loan and grant data from the Department of Education via the NSLDS Student Access system.
  • On the K-12 level, pioneering school districts and states—including York County and New York State—are committing to give students the ability to access and download their own academic data.
  • A new state-led effort will make it easier to transfer academic information digitally and securely when moving between schools, an especially valuable service for children of active military and foster children.
  • A new Department of Education and higher education institution collaboration to work on a data standard for postsecondary course catalogs, degree requirements, and related information. As more postsecondary institutions provide their course and awards data in the same format, students will benefit with new options to shorten college completion time and costs.

Watch our playlist of the day’s presenters, including Secretary Duncan and US CTO Todd Park, or view them here.

Many of the announcements of the day build off a simple principle: in an increasingly digital educational system, students should have easy access to their own data.  Moreover, these data should be secure, yet mobile; too often, students can see their data online but can’t take it with them.

One of the core projects talked about is the MyData Initiative—a collaboration between the U.S. Department of Education and software developers to help students securely export or download their own educational data in open, machine-readable, human-readable formats, on any system. A number of vendors that already provide schools with software systems have committed to offer this functionality.

Giving students their own data can be potentially game-changing. For example, with access to their own data, students are able to create personal learning profiles—educational portfolios of their own records. They can then choose to safely share pieces of those learning profiles with an ever-growing network of applications being built by private-sector entrepreneurs to help inform choices about which classes to take, which colleges to apply to, and how to pay for tuition.

Open data standards can also solve problems inherent in the antiquated paper-based student record system. For example, many teachers and principals across the country deal with new students who show up at their classrooms with virtually no paper trail. This forces educators to make important decisions with no student records, no data, and no points of reference. If every student information system can import and export student academic records in the same standardized format, it makes it easier for schools to transfer information internally and with other schools. Moreover, this problem disproportionately affects low-income students, who are often more likely to be transient and are most dependent on support from their schools.

Smart use of open data will help improve college access and affordability for students, and help us meet the President’s challenge to regain our place as world leader in our proportion of college graduates by 2020.

Other open data initiatives such as the Blue Button and Green Button—which are empowering citizens with their own health information and household energy usage information—have proven that liberating data from government vaults can fuel new products and services, grow new businesses, and help create jobs. The Education Datapalooza demonstrated that this model of openness and entrepreneurship can help us achieve similar gains for American education.

Continue reading →

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