Thursday, December 31, 2009

"The Widget Effect: Our National Failure to Acknowledge and Act on Teacher Effectiveness

The following excerpts are from the http://widgeteffect.org/ 
A Report conducted by The New Teacher Project, http://www.tntp.org/ 
Please visit http://widgeteffect.org/ to view this report in its entirety.


If teachers are so important, why do we treat them like widgets?

"Effective teachers are the key to student success. Yet our school systems treat all teachers as interchangeable parts, not professionals. Excellence goes unrecognized and poor performance goes unaddressed. This indifference to performance disrespects teachers and gambles with students’ lives."

From the Overview:

The Widget Effect is a wide-ranging report that studies teacher evaluation and dismissal in four states and 12 diverse districts, ranging from 4,000 to 400,000 students in enrollment. From the beginning, over 50 district and state officials and 25 teachers’ union representatives actively informed the study through advisory panels in each state.

The Findings Revealed:
  • All teachers are rated good or great. Less than 1 percent of teachers receive unsatisfactory ratings, even in schools where students fail to meet basic academic standards, year after year.
  • Excellence goes unrecognized. When excellent ratings are the norm, truly exceptional teachers cannot be formally identified. Nor can they be compensated, promoted or retained.
  • Professional development is inadequate. Almost 3 in 4 teachers did not receive any specific feedback on improving their performance in their last evaluation.
  • Novice teachers are neglected. Low expectations for beginning teachers translate into benign neglect in the classroom and a toothless tenure process.
  • Poor performance goes unaddressed. Half of the districts studied have not dismissed a single tenured teacher for poor performance in the past five years. None dismiss more than a few each year.
The Policy Implication is:

Though it is widely accepted that a teacher’s effectiveness matters more than any other school factor in student success or failure, it is almost never considered in critical decisions such as how teachers are hired, developed or retained.

The Resulting Recommendation:


The Widget Effect is deeply ingrained in the fundamental systems and policies that govern the teachers in our public schools.


Reversing it depends on better information about instructional quality that can be used as a primary factor in other important human capital decisions.

  • ADOPT a comprehensive performance evaluation system that fairly, accurately and credibly differentiates teachers based on their effectiveness in promoting student achievement and provides targeted professional development to help them improve.
  • TRAIN administrators and other evaluators in the teacher performance evaluation system and hold them accountable for using it fairly and effectively.
  • INTEGRATE the performance evaluation system with critical human capital policies and functions such as teacher assignment, professional development, compensation, retention and dismissal.
  • ADDRESS consistently ineffective teaching through dismissal policies that provide lower-stakes options for ineffective teachers to exit the district and a system of due process that is fair but efficient.
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Laurel Finance Chief Admits Diverting School Funds

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Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Kilroy: Delaware's Race to the Clock

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Race to the Top and Louisiana's Recovery School District

A little research and maybe it's not all roses in Louisiana:  (If it's big and in bold text, it's my comment. If it's red, it's a link.)

In 2003, the Louisiana passed legislation creating a Recovery School District, administered by the Louisiana Department of Education.  The RSD is designed to take underperforming schools and transform them into successful places for children to learn.  After the hurricanes of 2005, the majority of schools in New Orleans were turned over to the RSD. 

"Rather than following the common paradigm for school takeovers nationally – that is, taking over entire school districts with all their dysfunctions, central office bureaucracy, employees, and restrictive collective bargaining agreements, the Recovery School District takes over only individual schools, their employees, their students and their funding."

The RSD employs a number of strategies to turn around struggling schools, and a key strategy is charter schools. The District is supporting both charter conversions for struggling schools and charter conversions for schools that are improving.  To learn about the The RSD Strategy, click here.

How does the LA state intervention work?
Schools that fail to meet state minimum academic standards for at least four consecutive years are eligible for state intervention. These schools can be placed into the RSD or retained by the local school board under the terms of a supervisory Memorandum of Understanding and related School Recovery Plan.

What is a Memorandum of Understanding?

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is a binding agreement between a local school district and the Louisiana Department of Education (LDE) that outlines necessary actions that must be implemented at a failing school in order for it to avoid placement in the Recovery School District (RSD). If the district fails to comply with the terms of the MOU or fails to make progress toward the implementation of the school recovery plan during the first year of the agreement, the Department may exercise the option of placing the school in the RSD. The degree of oversight involved in each school’s MOU will vary and will be based on the level of intervention Department officials deem necessary for the school to succeed.

The 2009 School Performance Scores (SPS) report released October 13, 2009 by the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE shows the Recovery School District is improving school performance in New Orleans schools.

Prior to being transferred to the RSD, most schools were labeled Academically Unacceptable for at least four consecutive years, meaning they failed to meet the minimum score of a 60 SPS. Of the 60 RSD schools that received scores in the LDOE report, 26 have raised their scores to a 60 or higher. Additionally, the District Performance Score (DPS) improved from 51.4 to 54.0 from 2008 to 2009.

The strong performance of RSD charter schools is particularly noteworthy. Three-quarters of the District’s charter schools received scores above 60, giving them a rating of one-star or above.  Cick here for Accountability information.

Sounds a lot like Race to the Top???  Maybe that's why I keep seeing the RSD referenced in my RTTT Research.  Yet, RSD is not Immune to the challenges facing education today.  Check out the flip side:
  • The Recovery School District responds to allegations made by the  Times-Picayune about their Alternative Programs at Schwarz Academy  http://www.rsdla.net/media/NoticesAll/NoticeSingle/09-06-28/RSD_responds_to_Schwarz_Academy_allegations.aspx
  • The Recovery School District looks to make charters pay rent.  The Recovery School District and the Orleans Parish School Board, the two major overseers of charters in New Orleans, have historically provided their charters rent-free building space.  But, in certain cases, it's been unclear whether the district or the charter school bears responsibility for maintenance or repairs on the buildings. Such issues have typically been resolved on a case-by-case basis.  "What we are doing now is not sustainable," said Ramsey Green, the district's director of operations, who said nearly half of his staff's time goes to handling the charter requests...  More Here:   http://www.nola.com/education/index.ssf/2009/12/recovery_school_district_looks.html
  • Recovery School District lays off dozens of teachers (August) -- Many replaced by Teach for America.  http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/08/recovery_school_district_to_la.html
  • Recovery School District to close four schools.  "The changes reflect a mix of broad goals. The cash-strapped district, which has spent heavily under Superintendent Paul Vallas, is struggling to balance its 2009-10 budget as it braces for the loss of millions in one-time federal dollars next school year. At the same time, the state-run system is moving forward with plans to convert most of its schools to charters, representing one of the nation's largest public school privatization efforts. http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/03/recovery_school_district_to_cl.html
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Sunday, December 27, 2009

Another Product I Love


I recently came upon a book titled "25 Ways To Awaken Your Birth Power" and love it. Love it for several reasons. First off, the artwork is beautiful and inspiring. So much so that I ordered one of the prints for my Bradley bathroom that my students use. The quote is mine.


The book comes with a CD of all 25 exercises, read in a soothing Australian accent with pleasant music in the background. Your partner can read it or you can use the CD. I would recommend both.

I love the name of the book. The word "awaken" is what strikes a cord with me. All women have this instinct to give birth, to breastfeed their babies, to nurture their young. Most women, however, do not even know their capabilities. Fear of birth surrounds us in all that we see and hear. Some women know they can give birth naturally, but most, I believe, need to awaken their birth power.

And how about the words "birth power" -- that's what it is -- power. Power from her body, of course, but even more, power from her mind, her heart, her baby, her partner, her doula, her midwife. She becomes more powerful than she ever thought possible during the act of birthing her baby. This power carries her through everything that comes afterward in her life. She will reflect upon the things that she learns about herself during birth throughout her lifetime. Her power and the power that birth gave to her.

If you would like more info on how you can order your own copy, check out www.awakenyourbirthpower.com. Enjoy.
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DOE Delivers an Early Christmas Present

(C&E 1st actually started this post before the Christmas Holiday)

And the winner is ... American Institutes for Research!

According to today's News Journal AIR will provide the replacement assessment for the DSTP.  We, at C&E 1st, are doing bit of celebrating!  It has long been speculated that the DCAS would come from Northwest Education Association, since DOE had to re-bid the assessment following lawsuits filed over the summer by both AIR and NWEA.  NWEA already had a substantial footprint in Delaware as the provider of the Measures of Academic Performance Assessment, utilized here in Christina, and in other districts throughout the state.

As far as C&;E 1st is concerned, NWEA has always warranted a bit of extra scrutiny due it's relationship with former Christina Superintendent Joe Wise, a NWEA board member.  We've made it clear from Day 1, that it is our opinion that both Christina and Delaware need to move boldly in a new direction. Perhaps, DOE is laying the groundwork. 

We can always be hopeful. 

And when praise is due, we offer it:  DOE, nice job.  AIR appears to be a solid company with many proven successes, run by a board of post-secondary education visionaries from leading Universities across the nation.
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Saturday, December 26, 2009

Food for Thought

Federal Money Will Help Nevada District Build Academy for Highly Gifted Students

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/speced/2009/12/federal_money_will_help_nevada.html
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CSD Board's Race to the Top Workshop Is ON!

Wednesday, January 6 ~ 6:30 p.m.


Special Board Workshop
Eden Support Services Center
Sec. of Education, Lillian Lowery, is scheduled to participate.

Where's Eden?
http://www.christina.k12.de.us/Maps/Eden.htm



Christina Dates to Remember:
Monday, January 4
SCHOOLS REOPEN

Tuesday, January 5 ~ 7:00 pm
Strategic Planning Process
Community Meeting
Topic - Learning Environment: Creating Positive School Environments
Brader Elementary School

Wednesday, January 6 ~ 6:30 p.m.
Special Board Workshop
Eden Support Services Center

Thursday, January 7 ~ 7:00 pm
Student Code of Conduct
Review Committee Meeting
Keene Elementary School
Click here for more info

Tuesday, January 12 ~ 7:30 p.m.
Board of Education Meeting
Gallaher Elementary School
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Thursday, December 24, 2009

We're tracking Santa!

Happy Holidays to All!
http://www.noradsanta.org/en/index.html



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Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Christina's back in business!

Notice for Wednesday, December 23:


Schools & Offices Open

All schools and offices in the Christina School District will be open on Wednesday, December 23.

Students Report!
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Monday, December 21, 2009

Christina School District And Race to the Top

Last week I posted the following information:
The Christina BOE will be asked to vote on the Memoranda between the State of Delaware and the district. Perhaps you've come to conclusion that I've already decided my vote. I have not. But, I am seeking fair and balanced information and making an effort to share it with you.


The CSD has tentatively scheduled a meeting regarding the Race to the Top for Jan. 6th. More details and confirmation to come so stay tuned.
On Friday I learned that this meeting is very much up in the air.  As of now, it appears that the Board will not convene regarding Race to the Top prior to its regularly scheduled Jan. 12th meetings.

 I have vocalized to my fellow board members my support for some type of public forum to engage all interested constituents regarding this weighty decision and will continue to advocate on behalf of all for a thoughtful and meaningful discussion to occur in advance of the state-mandated Race to the Top deadlines.

Perhaps, I am naive.  But, I believe we must forge ahead together if we are to be able to create and sustain the improvements that our schools need.
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Saturday, December 19, 2009

Tennesse Positioned for Race to the Top

http://www.t-g.com/story/1596182.html

"Race to the Top" school guidelines approved

Friday, December 18, 2009
By JOHN I. CARNEY ~ jcarney@t-g.com

Bedford County Board of Education, meeting Thursday night, approved a memorandum of understanding with the state to comply with the guidelines of President Obama's "Race To The Top" grant program.


The program will evaluate teachers and principals based on criteria such as student test scores, and make tenure more dependent on the results. "This was somewhat controversial a month ago," said School Superintendent Ed Gray.


Now, however, Gray said it's likely that conditions similar to those in the memorandum will be enacted into state law during a special legislative session which Gov. Phil Bredesen and Lieutenant Gov. Ron Ramsey have called for next month; board members said it was better to approve the memorandum now and have a chance at Race To The Top grants, since the school system will likely end up having to adopt those rules anyway...

More Here
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Red Clay to Hold Meeting on Race to the Top

http://www.redclaynow.com/
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Friday, December 18, 2009

Why the Race Watch?

Have you participated in my totally unscientific Race to the Top poll? It's in the bar to the right.

Should Christina participate? Have your say and while your at it, drop me a comment by clicking on the link at the bottom of this post. (It's the envelope icon.)

So, Why the Race Watch?   The official media spin from our federal government is that Race to the Top is "the way" to go.  We know that Delaware has been repeatedly characterized as being "well-positioned" to win some of those dollars.

But, it would be foolish to come to conclusions about this money with its many strings attached within the single scope of the "Delaware bubble."  We can and should seek guidance from other districts and states, and search out valid opinions and relevent questions.  We are the greatest threat to our own success when "We don't know what we don't know."

The Christina BOE will be asked to vote on the Memoranda between the State of Delaware and the district.  Perhaps you've come to conclusion that I've already decided my vote.  I have not.  But, I am seeking fair and balanced information and making an effort to share it with you.

The CSD has tentatively scheduled a meeting regarding the Race to the Top for Jan. 6th.  More details and confirmation to come so stay tuned.
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Race Watch: Louisiana

Bossier School District opts out of Race to the Top


By Nicole Blake • nblake@gannett.com • December 18, 2009

To the applause of people at the Bossier School Board meeting Thursday, the panel unanimously rejected further involvement in a federal rewards program designed to address education reform.

After considering suggestions from schools Superintendent D.C. Machen and board member Eddy Ray Presley, the School Board agreed not to send a letter of intent to the state signaling the district's interest in Race to the Top.  More HERE!
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Race Watch: Nevada

Nevada Governor's office holds off on Race to the Top grant

Nevada Appeal Capitol Bureau http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20091218/NEWS/912179961/1070&ParentProfile=1058

Stacy Woodbury, deputy chief of staff to Gov. Jim Gibbons, told lawmakers Thursday the governor will wait until the second round before applying for a grant under the federal “Race to the Top” education program.

Members of the legislative education study committee had urged the governor to apply immediately for the grant money. For the first round, that would require a grant application by January. Grant applications for the second round of awards, Woodbury said, aren't due until June.

Race to the Top is a challenge grant program for K-12 programs created as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Woodbury said the governor “respectfully disagrees” with those lawmakers, including Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas, who charged that failure to apply by Jan. 19 would be a lost opportunity.

Woodbury said waiting could greatly increase Nevada's chances of receiving a substantial grant. She said by waiting, Nevada will get the chance to see all the grant applications from the 34 other states that are applying in round one.

“We'll get a look at everybody's best practices and all the feds' comments on them and be able to tailor our application to them,” she said.

She said if Nevada rushes to put together an application by Jan. 19, it might get a grant.

“What if we apply but only get a very small grant?” she asked.

She said the state should use what everybody else learns from round one to put in the best possible application and, hopefully, get a much larger grant for a well developed program.

Woodbury said, however, the governor agrees with Horsford's proposal to create a Race to the Top stakeholders group to help develop that application.

She also informed the committee Thursday that Nevada has already missed the Dec. 10 deadline for filing a letter of intent to seek grant money in the first round.
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Grand Rapids area educators torn about last-minute grab at federal Race to the Top funding

By Kym Reinstadler
The Grand Rapids Press
December 18, 2009, 8:27AM

E-mail Kym Reinstadler: kreinstadler@grpress.com

GRAND RAPIDS -- As the state Legislature worked Thursday considering education reforms to make the state's request for a slice of the $4.35 billion Race to the Top pie more savory, some school officials wonder whether competing for the federal funds is worth the effort.

"In tough economic times, you don't want to leave money on the table that could help students," said Ryan Kelley, Rockford's assistant superintendent for instruction. "But there are still so many details that Lansing hasn't filled in that we can't know yet what we're being asked to support."

He was among about 160 school administrators and board members and teachers' union representatives taking part in a discussion on Race to the Top funding at the Kent Intermediate School District.

While reforms that Lansing the is mulling look good, Godfrey Lee Superintendent Dave Britten believes few school officials will support them until important criteria are defined.

Michigan's Race to the Top application is coming down to the wire. That is primarily because the federal government did not finalize requirements for the program until Nov. 18.

The looming deadlines are:

• Jan. 7, when districts requesting funds must file framework agreements signed by their superintendent, school board president and teachers' union president

• Jan. 11, when applications are due to the Michigan Department of Education.

• Jan. 19, when Michigan's application is due with the U.S. Department of Education.

In April, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan will select 10 states with keen reform plans to split the funding.
Michigan's share is expected to be about $400 million, with half to be divided among districts that endorsed the reforms and get Title One funding, supplemental payments to schools where at least 40 percent of students' families are at or below federal poverty guidelines.

The other half -- minus the Michigan Department of Education's administrative fee -- would be divided among 14 demonstration districts, including Grand Rapids Public Schools.

The Wyoming school board Monday decided to support applying for the money, said Tom Reeder, the district's assistant superintendent for instruction.

"But we wish we were at the point we were at back in August," he said. "It's a touchy situation asking people to sign things before anybody has the nitty, gritty details."

He figures Wyoming could possibly land $500,000 through the initiative. By comparison, Grand Rapids figures it could possibly get $25 million to $30 million.

The $4.35 billion in available funding would be tied to implementing reforms in key areas and could not be spent to plug other budget holes.

Hot buttons in the state's reform package, local educators said, include defining student growth, which is to be a measure of teacher and principal evaluations; and defining a struggling school, a designation which would trigger interventions and staff changes and interventions.

The proposed reforms currently include differentiated compensation or merit pay; opportunities for successful charter schools to expand; and alternate routes to teacher certification for science and technology instructors.
All those are typically opposed by teachers' unions.

Many are miffed accepting Race to the Top funds would require Michigan to adopt a national curriculum. The state aligned public schools' curricula to be consistent over the past decade.
[Continue Reading]

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Poll: Should Christina Participate in the Race to the Top?

Have you participated in my totally unscientific Race to the Top poll?  It's in the bar to the right.

Should Christina participate?  Have your say and while your at it, drop me a comment by clicking on the link at the bottom of this post.  (It's the envelope icon.)

Thanks!
[Continue Reading]

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Race to the Top or Something Closer to the Heart

Vermont Commons, Number 31, Fall, 2009
from  http://www.pathsoflearning.net/articles_Race_to_the_Top.pdf
by Dr. Ron Miller (see links below for more information on Miller's alternative approach to education.)

I was inspired by Barack Obama’s campaign for the presidency. When I read The Audacity of Hope, I was convinced that he was a genuine visionary, one who might lead us beyond the stale ideologies of our time. I thought my colleagues in the Vermont independence movement were a little too cynical to dismiss him as yet another, more slickly packaged, builder of empire. Sadly, except for a few history-jarring moments, such as his speech in Cairo, I’m coming to believe that their cynicism is justified. Nothing has driven this home to me more than the imperial educational policy that he and his technocrat Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, have unleashed on American youth. They call it “Race to the Top.”

The damage this approach will do to genuine learning and children’s lives is contained in its very name. To conceive education as a “race”—a competition forcing schools, teachers, and students to contend for some sort of victory—is to poison the inherent human striving for understanding and meaning. 
Keep Reading Here:  http://www.pathsoflearning.net/articles_Race_to_the_Top.pdf

Paths of Learning by Dr. Ron Miller offers a holistic approach to education.  The following is from his website, http://www.pathsoflearning.net/.  Learn about Dr. Miller HERE.

Holistic Education: a response to the crisis of our time This website features the work of Dr. Ron Miller, one of the leading pioneers in the field of holistic education, and provides connections to other resources that are available to parents, educators, researchers and policymakers.

Holistic education began to emerge as a coherent philosophy in the mid-1980s and is today becoming recognized in many parts of the world as an inspiring response to the serious challenges of this age of globalization, such as violence, cultural disintegration, and ecological decline.

Bringing together the best theory and practices from diverse educational alternatives, a holistic perspective asserts that education must start by nourishing the unique potentials of every child, within overlapping contexts of family, community, society, humanity, and the natural world. Holistic education is not a fixed ideology but an open-ended attempt to embrace the complexity and wholeness of human life.

Holistic educators reject the current obsession with educational uniformity: rigid standards, relentless testing, and authoritarian control of the learning process. Holistic education is essentially a democratic education, concerned with both individual freedom and social responsibility. It is education for a culture of peace, for sustainability and ecological literacy, and for the development of humanity's inherent morality and spirituality.
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Letters of Intent for Phase 1 of Race to the Top

States who have submitted letters of intent to apply for Phase 1


The list below reflects the names of States who have submitted letters of intent to apply for Phase 1 of the Race to the Top. States are encouraged by the Department to submit letters of intent so the Department can plan for the Phase 1 peer review process. Letters of intent are not required for a State to submit an application in Phase 1. Likewise, States that submit letters of intent are not required to submit an application in Phase 1.

Yellow Highlights = our region
Noticeably absent is the state of Maryland.
To learn more go here:  http://www.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/intent-to-apply.html

Head Here for updated commentary from Edweek: 
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2009/12/list_of_race_to_the_top_conten.html

Alabama
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Massachusetts
Minnesota
Missouri
Nebraska
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
Ohio
Oregon
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Utah
Virginia
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
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La. School Board Group Opposes Race to the Top Bid

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It Merit Pay the Answer?

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Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Important Upcoming Christina Events/Dates

Thursday, December 10
  • Porter Road Elementary School Winter Concert, 7:00 p.m. (Location Kirk Middle School Auditorium)
Saturday, December 12
  • Delaware School for the Deaf Winter Bazaar Fundraiser, 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.
  • Glasgow High School Annual Craft Fair,  9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.

Tuesday, December 15
  • Pulaski Elementary School Winter Holiday Cultural Arts Night, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
  • Shue-Medilil Middle School Winter Concert, 7:00 p.m.
  • Strategic Planning Process Community Meeting, Bayard Middle School, 7:00 p.m. Topic - Excellence and Equity: Accelerating Student Achievement

Wednesday, December 16
  • Financial Review Committee Meeting, Gauger-Cobbs Middle School, 6:30 p.m.
  • Bayard Middle School Winter Wonderland, 7:00 p.m.
  • Brader Elementary School Chorus Concert, 7:00 p.m. Brookside Elementary School Winter Concert, 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, December 17

  • High School Night at Bayard Middle School, 6:00-8:00 p.m.
  • Bayard Middle School Winter Arts Festival, 6:00-7:30 p.m.
  • Gallaher Elementary School Winter Concert, 6:30 p.m.
  • Christiana High School Winter Concert, 7:00 p.m.
  • Keene Elementary School Winter Concert, 7:00 p.m.
  • Leasure Elementary School Winter Concert, 7:00 p.m. (Location: Kirk Middle School Auditorium)
  • Newark High School Winter Choir Concert, 7:00 p.m.
Monday, December 21

  • Maclary Elementary School Holiday Concerts -- 6:30 p.m. PK, K, 1st & 2nd Grades; 7:30 p.m. 3rd, 4th & 5th Grades

Tuesday, December 22

  • McVey Elementary School Holiday/Winter Concert, 6:30 p.m.
  • Newark High School Winter Band Concert, 7:00 p.m.
December 24 - January 1  SCHOOLS CLOSED - Winter Holiday

December 24, 25, 28, 31 & January 1  OFFICES CLOSED

January 4  SCHOOLS REOPEN
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Scars

"Scars remind us where we've been, but don't have to dictate where we're going."
-Agent Rossey, Criminal Minds

OK, a bit strange to put a quote on here from Criminal Minds (my favorite show on television), but seems very applicable right about now. Stay tuned for a wonderful VBAC story...
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Friday, December 4, 2009

Another Petition to the AAP Protesting Circumcision

This petition goes to the American Academy of Pediatrics about NOT recommending circumcision to all baby boys. Their stand for years has been to leave it alone, but they are considering changing it because of these reports out of Africa which I've been writing about.

The last petition was for the CDC. This is a different petition.
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Thursday, December 3, 2009

Storytime: System Fails VBACing Mom

I have an unfortunate story to tell. Not the best line to start a post, but here goes:

Last spring I met a woman, Allison, at church who was pregnant with her third baby. She had had two previous c-sections and was going to have another because her doctor wouldn't do a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean) after two c-sections. I told her that there were a handful of care providers who would do a VBAC for her in the area. I sent her some different names, links, and videos to check out. I was starting up a new class around that time and her and her husband, Jonathan, enrolled.

They started their "homework" immediately. They began interviewing midwives and other doctors. They hired a doula. She visited a chiropractor regularly. And Allison read like crazy. She became very informed. She truly prepared her body both mentally and physically for a VBAC.

They hired a doctor at a hospital that says they "allow" VBACs. The doctor admitted that not everyone in his practice would do it, but he would do his best to "protect" her. In the past, he has been at the births for my students and even encouraged them to eat, drink, and walk around. They felt good about their choice of doctor and comfortable with the hospital.

Her "due date" came and went, but they waited patiently for another 8 days. She visited with Hannah who worked on some acupressure points, took an herbal supplement from her chiropractor (said to put a woman in labor within a day or two), and she was in labor by the next day!

I was in contact with their doula, Nancy, throughout the evening. When they got to the hospital, Allison was dilated to about a 3 or 4 and 90% effaced. She had never really started labor on her own before, so this was so exciting! The doctor on call said that her doctor was not available and could not be reached, and after reviewing her chart, would not do a VBAC. Allison told her that she would not have a c-section at that point because everything was going fine. The doctor told her that she would either have a c-section "right now" or Allison would have to fire her. So, Allison fired the on-call doctor!

From that point, the doctor treated her very poorly and would not let her have the things she wanted, like a birth ball. The nurses were trying to help her, but the doctor made that nearly impossible. With all the questions, and needles, and stress, adrenaline took over, which is the opposite of oxytocin. Her contractions spaced out and got much less intense. They brought up the ER doctor, who concurred with the OB on call, that Allison should have a c-section. Her bedside manner was considerably better though she allowed Allison to negotiate terms for leaving the hospital without a c-section. If she was dilated less than e centimeters, she would not have her sign a paper that she was leaving Against Medical Advice (AMA). Miraculously, when the doctor checked her, she told her she was dilated 2 centimeters and was "paper thin."

So, they were "homeless." They didn't know where to go. Who would attend her birth with two c-sections under her belt, so to speak? They called a midwife that we all know and love, but without ever seeing her, the midwife didn't want to take that on. They called a well-known VBAC doctor in the area, but an hour from their home, and could not reach him. They simply drove home, with Allison in labor.

They spent days trying and wishing for labor to start, and now they were trying to get labor to stop! Allison's doctor would be back in the office the next afternoon, and this was midnight. Labor continued and got much stronger once they were out of the hospital.

As labor progressed, they made the very difficult decision to go to the hospital closest to their home, knowing they would have a c-section, no matter where they went. They wanted to have monitoring for both mom and baby and staying at home was no longer an option. When she got to the hospital, she was dilated 5 centimeters and 100% effaced. Baby was fine, mom was fine, and labor was normal. But because she had had two previous c-sections, she had a third.

Baby was about 9 1/2 pounds and very healthy. A wonderful nurser, too! They are so happy that they started labor on their own and that baby, and mom, had the benefits of labor. Her recovery has been the best of all the c-sections, and she feels that it is due, in part because of the chiropractic care she received and continues to receive.

She will reflect on this experience all her life. She did tell me that the pregnancy was better than what it would have been because she had hope -- hope for a vaginal birth. She prepared for a different experience, and while the outcome was not what she hoped for, she went through the pregnancy with a different attitude than she would have if she had just scheduled another c-section.

I have thought about this so much, and I don't know what she could have done differently. The whole experience was circumstantial. If her doctor would have been there, or one of the other doctors who support VBACs had been on call, would she have had a vaginal birth? Probably. This story illustrates the point that birth is often about policies and lawsuits, not about good health care. Allison had this c-section simply because the hospital, and the on-call doctor, had a no-VBAC policy.

The system is what failed Allison, not her body.
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More Evidence About the Dangers of Ultrasound

I found a link about some other studies on ultrasound. There are a couple of posts under this link. They are short and easy to understand. The evidence is compelling. Check it out.

Next time your doctor says, "I don't know why 'Bradley' is so concerned about ultrasound," and tries to tell you how safe it is and that Bradley Instructors are the only people out there who care, they couldn't be further from the truth.

Evidence is mounting. Check it out.
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Wednesday, December 2, 2009

From CBASSE -- On Certificates and Diplomas

The following text is an excerpt from:
Educating One and All: Students with Disabilities and Standards-Based Reform (1997) 
Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education (CBASSE)

Though the book was published in 1997, many of the concerns raised by CBASSE continue to hold true today. - Elizabeth

BOX 4-1 Credentialing, the High School Diploma, and Students with Disabilities

The credentialing issue is critical in standards-based reform because credentials are the means for communicating students' high school performance to the public. Since a high school diploma is the minimum requirement for a variety of employment opportunities, some educators are concerned about the impact standards-based reform could have on the high school credentialing process for a number of students, including some with disabilities.

Over the last several decades, as the proportion of high school students receiving a high school diploma has increased, not having a diploma is regarded as damning to one's job prospects. At the same time, having a diploma has seemed, for some time now, to be only minimally impressive to employers (Bishop, 1996; Hawkins, 1978; Pedulla and Reidy, 1979). Some argue that there is no substantive relationship between academic content and the awarding of a high school diploma (Bishop, 1989, 1994; Sedlak et al., 1986). They see the move to ratchet up standards required for a diploma as an attempt "to hold schools to standards that the lay public could easily measure and understand" (Sedlak et al., 1986:28). Raising standards in a credible way is thus a response to employer concerns about the devaluing of a diploma, as well as to more general concerns about U.S. international competitiveness.

Some students with disabilities in certain states receive differentiated diplomas, which distinguish students following a rigorous academic track from those following a minimally academic or vocational track. The latter group receives certificates of attendance or other nonacademic diplomas (see Chapter 3). Thus, students with disabilities operate in a credentialing universe much more complex than their general education counterparts. Potential employers may face difficulty in putting an applicant's credential in the appropriate context, given the diversity in the credentialing of students with disabilities. This diversity makes it that much harder for students with disabilities to showcase their achievements and abilities.

A number of issues about credentialing for students with disabilities warrant attention. First, if standards for a high school diploma are increased, more students—including those with disabilities—may not receive diplomas and, more to the point, they will not easily be able to convey to potential employers what they have achieved in high school. Some students, including some with disabilities, who currently receive certificates of attendance face this problem. All students—whether they currently would receive a diploma, certificate of attendance, or no certification whatsoever—deserve to leave high school able to signal credibly to potential employers what they have achieved.* The students who do not attain a diploma may experience hardship, particularly in the short run. In the medium to long run, job requirements will presumably adjust to the new standards, although what form of readily ascertainable certification will replace the high school diploma is unclear.

Second, as one changes the nature of the credentialing process, whether by increasing standards or by requiring minimum competency tests, students must first be adequately prepared to meet the challenges posed by the new credentialing process. In other words, the K-12 curriculum ought to provide students with opportunities to learn the material required for the credential. This concept has proved controversial and subject to litigation (Debra P. v. Turlington 644 F. 2d 397, 1981), both for students with disabilities and for other disadvantaged groups (see Chapter 5 for further discussion). The issue is further complicated by the laws requiring accommodations for students with disabilities. Phillips (1993) and Vitello (1988) discuss issues relevant to this debate in more detail.

Third, it is important to recognize that employers are constantly looking for ways to lower costs. To the extent that the credentialing system makes it more, rather than less, costly for business to evaluate the capabilities of students with disabilities, the system makes the transition to employment harder. The importance of providing clear and credible evidence of what students have achieved and are capable of should not be underestimated.

*Such certification should be flexible enough to signify differential achievement to allow potential employers to distinguish among them. Bishop sees students having the opportunity to signal higher achievement to potential employers as providing an important incentive. Michigan, New York, and Tennessee have honors diplomas to acknowledge those whose achievements sufficiently surpass the basic requirements (Bond et al., 1996).
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It was a great night to be Christina!

It's a good time to be a part of Christina.  That much was evident last night, as our community convened for the first of many strategic planning sessions.  We are a district poised for growth and change, led by a new superintendent, and guided by a board newly infused with fresh ideas, creativity, and energy. 

As the end of one decade bears down on us, it's clear that there is much work to be done.  But, we move forward with a stronger foundation.  The last three years have seen much change as we adopted Neighborhood Schools, implemented some full-day kindergarten classes, completed a new elementary school and have now begun construction on new facilities for Sterck.

I am bouyed by the collaboration of our first community meeting surrounding our strategic plan.  Deep in the heart of Newark High School, educators, parents, and community leaders came together to create the first vestiges of a wish list for our future.  Early education and secondary improvements were high on the agenda for many.  However, it was the group of four or five students who participated of their own free will that really stole the show.  Nothing can come close to the first hand experiences of our students and their stories.  They asked for smaller class sizes, more variety in extra-curricular programming, and stressed a need for all high schools to offer the same programs, such the Cambridge college prep program.  Though these are not new ideas, what was novel is that they were voiced by our children and heard by so many adults.

I'm not naive, there is so much work to be done and none of it easy.   And as much as we want every wish list item to become reality, the reality is that there are limits to what we can accomplish.  Change doesn't happen overnight.  It must be systematic and policy-driven -- which is why the Strategic Planning process is so vital to our future.

Yes, we are poised for great things.  Let's chart the course for success through community collaboration.  If you haven't been there yet, check out the district website for important meeting dates and other opportunities to particpate:  http://www.christina.k12.de.us/
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Monday, November 30, 2009

Community Meeting Tuesday!

Community Meeting
Tuesday, December 1 ~ 7:00 p.m.
Newark High School

Strategic Planning Process
Topic - Excellence and Equity: Accelerating Student Achievement
http://www.christina.k12.de.us/StrategicPlan/index.htm

The first meeting, on the topic of Excellence and Equity: Accelerating Student Achievement, will focus on student achievement and ways the District can strengthen opportunities for all students to achieve their full potential. Participants will be asked, "What do you want to improve?" and "What are the problems we want to solve?" and will work as a group to begin the process of developing action steps to address these questions. In addition to volunteer community members, the group meeting on this topic will include teachers, school principals, administrators, and board members. The two community meetings scheduled on this topic will be held on the following dates:


• Tuesday, December 1 at 7:00 p.m.,
  Newark High School
• Tuesday, December 15 at 7:00 p.m.,
   Bayard Middle School
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Sunday, November 29, 2009

A Diploma for Shane

Shane's Story:

I first met Shane about two year ago, he was a UD student also employed by the University. By virtue of being a UD student, you know that Shane earned a high school diploma and he is, proudly a graduate of one of Delaware's Vo-Tech High Schools.

But, Shane was not always destined for post-secondary greatness, or post-secondary anything. In fact, it was through a moment of despair that Shane found the strength to achieve. It began with a principal who thought so little of Shane that he flat out told him, "You will never get a diploma from my school." Perhaps such an edict was issued to inspire the student? Shane assures me that this was not the case. The words stung and left Shane feeling helpless and demotivated, as intended. But, that statement also sparked a fire and ultimately it drove Shane to apply himself, to overcome lifelong challenges, and to define his own destination.
Had Shane's principal never issued such a demeaning challenge, this young man would have drifted through high school, his formal education culminating with a Certificate of Performance. Most principals would consider Shane's success a feather in their cap. If only, this administrator had had such noble intentions.

High School Diplomas are revered as interest property. Those who argue for performance certificates assert that it is the integrity of the diploma itself that they are trying to protect. I disagree, let the post-secondary educators sort that out. Young adults are admitted to college based upon more than the ownership of one document; they are judged on their applications, essays, records, and assessments. The possession of a diploma is a formality for students who have truly earned acceptance to college (and I am not by any means devaluing the supreme accomplishment of these students.

In fact, in the 1982 case of Brookhart v. Illinois School Board of Education, the court ruled that " In deciding whether a high-school diploma was a "protective liberty or property interest," the denial of a diploma clearly affects a student's reputation and attaches a stigma that "will have potentially disasterous effects for future employment or educational opportunities." (Don Severner; Edweek.org; January 19, 1983, Special Ed Decision Reversed.)

To that end, a brief query of the Career Builder website found 171 jobs in the Wilmington Region requiring either a High School Diploma or GED, such as jobs working in healthcare facilities doing laundry or serving meals to residents. And herein lies one of the biggest problems for adults with Certificates of Performance: When a potential employee fills out the online job application, the employer's filter to is going to flag it for deletion because that application does not reflect that applicant holds a Diploma/GED. And they don't. However, the last time I checked, it was well within the scope of our many of special education vocational track students to be able to perform either task by age 21.

Let's be clear: No self-respecting adult would give a typical high school student of document entitled Diploma of Attendance, Performance, or Completion. Yet, we are comfortable giving out certificates of such names to student who frequently work harder and longer to learn practical skills than their typical peers work to earn academic credits.

Why?

Why, indeed?
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Saturday, November 28, 2009

News Journal Looks at MD Universal Pre-K Pilot

http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20091128/NEWS03/911280346

A CLOSER LOOK AT PREKINDERGARTEN PROGRAMS IN THE U.S. AND LOCALLY

  • Delaware Early Childhood Assistance Program (ECAP)
  • Total state pre-kindergarten spending: $5.73 million
  • State spending per child enrolled: $6,795
  • Total state program enrollment: 843
  • Income requirement: 90 percent of children must be at or below the federal poverty level ($22,050 for a family of four)
  • Special-education enrollment: 1,336
  • Federally funded Head Start enrollment: 1,639
  • State-funded Head Start enrollment: 843 (represents ECAP enrollment; all state-funded Head Start is through ECAP.)
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Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Adapted Physical Education for students reviewed through a new lens.

The following article caught my attention this morning for more than one reason.  Yes, it's uplifting.  Yes, it's about special education students.  Yes, it reveals the ingenuity of the human mind when creativity is allowed to flow forth in education, in physical education. 

But, it also spoke to concerns that I heard voiced by Christina's own REACH parents at a recent meeting.  I have submitted the questions about Adapted Physical Education raised by those in attendance and awaiting a response from our own CSD administration.

In the interim, I'd like to share excerpts from today's Edweek.org article, GAO Probes Access of Students With Disabilities to Sports by Lisa Fine.  Click the headline for the whole article.  It's definitely worth reading!

"Last year, Maryland passed a landmark law, the Fitness and Athletics Equity for Students with Disabilities Act, that requires district boards of education to develop policies to include students with disabilities in their physical education classes and athletic activities. The law requires that students be provided reasonable accommodations to participate, have the chance to try out for school teams, and have access to alternative opportunities such as Special Olympics-type teams or events that include students with and without disabilities. It is the only state law of its kind in the nation..."

"The high-profile case of a high school track-and-field athlete who uses a wheelchair and sued in 2006 for the right to race on the same track as her teammates helped inspire the law, proponents say.



Tatyana McFadden, who is a Paralympics medalist and world-record holder, won a lawsuit against the Howard County, Md., district to be able to compete on the same track, at the same time, as her teammates. She had been required to race alone on a separate track, she says, out of concern that her wheelchair would pose safety concerns.

“They would have everyone else run, and then they would stop the meet and have me run by myself, a person in a wheelchair going around alone,” says Ms. McFadden, now a 20-year-old sophomore at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who is majoring in dietetics and takes part in the university’s adapted-sports program. “Having it like that hurt a little bit. People feel sorry for you when they see you like that. People didn’t see how athletic I was.”


U.S. Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., says Ms. McFadden’s case made him aware of the need for schools to have guidance on how to offer students with disabilities access to sports..."

"School staff members often lack training and experience in how to adapt physical education classes for students with disabilities—and the quality of services is reduced as a result, says Timothy Davis, an assistant professor of physical education at the State University of New York at Cortland and the chairman of the Adapted Physical Education National Standards, a project established by a professional group to create standards and a certification program for the profession.


Only 13 states suggest additional training for physical educators to teach adapted physical education, according to Mr. Davis. Most states do not require any additional certification.


Teachers in an undergraduate program for physical education are often required to take one three-credit course in adapted physical education in the last year of the program, he notes. “By the time they get interested in adapted physical education, they are done and they are out student-teaching,” Mr. Davis says. “Then because they have had the one course, they get a job in a district teaching adapted physical education..."


"Because of a lack of training, physical education teachers often feel uncomfortable attending individualized-education-program, or IEP, meetings for students with disabilities—and the absence of those educators troubles him.




“Even if we are not invited to the meeting, we have to knock on the door. It’s your student, in your class,” Mr. Davis says. “If the physical education teacher is not at the meeting, somebody else makes the idea for placement. Somebody else is writing the goals and objectives for physical education. We need to be there; we need the representation.”


Sometimes an attitude shift can make a big difference, he says, in how to teach sports to students with disabilities"


“You focus on ability and not disability,” Mr. Davis says. “Focus on what a kid can do, and you can make it work. If you say, ‘He can’t run, he can’t throw,’ I cringe. Tell me what he can do, and now we can start teaching.”


For students with disabilities, too often being in physical education class or sports has meant being left on the sidelines. Such a student might serve as a “coach” or “scorekeeper,” or receive physical therapy instead of physical education, says David Martinez, who was named the 2009 National Adapted Physical Education Teacher of the Year by the American Association for Physical Activity and Recreation.




Mr. Martinez, an adapted physical education specialist in Cherokee County, Ga., says adapted physical educators must think constantly of how to make an activity work for a child, or come up with a piece of equipment or technology that could assist the student.


He researched and built a Frisbee-throwing machine, for instance, that is switch-operated for some of his students. It lets them throw a disc 30 to 40 feet with accuracy.


Talking with students about what they think would be ways to make a sport work for them also can be helpful, Mr. Martinez says...


Noting the reluctance of many students with disabilities to join in sports, he suggests what he says are creative ways to include those students in the athletic culture of high school. The Cherokee County district, for example, created a varsity-letter program for students in Special Olympics. If students complete two seasons of a Special Olympic sport, they can wear a varsity letter in that sport for the school.


“It lets them enjoy a part of high school culture,” Mr. Martinez says. “It lets parents celebrate along with their children. It lets nondisabled peers say, ‘Wow, that’s neat, what did you letter in? What position do you play?’ It creates a true appreciation for individual differences.”
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Monday, November 23, 2009

NCLB Worked???

Okay, I happen to feel that NCLB was another calamatous failure of the Bush Administration.  But, hey, I can give credit where due.  The latest observations released show that Math scores improved under NCLB for fourth and eighth graders.  That's fantastic, if American students never have a need to figure out word problems.  Did I mention that the same study failed to find that NCLB improved reading scores?

Yes, I know that I sound a bit cynical here.  And there are some that would argue I shouldn't.  But, NCLB has created such frustration for so many.  Talk about unfunded mandates.  The credit is not due to NCLB but to every state, school district, and teacher that found a way to incorporate the requirements of the act without the appropriate funding to do so. 

Go HERE for an evaluation of the study by Edweek.org

Here's the abstract with link to source:
Thomas Dee, Brian Jacob
NBER Working Paper No. 15531
Issued in November 2009
NBER Program(s): CH ED LS PE

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act compelled states to design school-accountability systems based on annual student assessments. The effect of this Federal legislation on the distribution of student achievement is a highly controversial but centrally important question. This study presents evidence on whether NCLB has influenced student achievement based on an analysis of state-level panel data on student test scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The impact of NCLB is identified using a comparative interrupted time series analysis that relies on comparisons of the test-score changes across states that already had school-accountability policies in place prior to NCLB and those that did not. Our results indicate that NCLB generated statistically significant increases in the average math performance of 4th graders (effect size = 0.22 by 2007) as well as improvements at the lower and top percentiles. There is also evidence of improvements in 8th grade math achievement, particularly among traditionally low-achieving groups and at the lower percentiles. However, we find no evidence that NCLB increased reading achievement in either 4th or 8th grade.
You may purchase this paper on-line in .pdf format from SSRN.com ($5) for electronic delivery.
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from the News Journal

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Sunday, November 22, 2009

Do Epidurals Affect the Baby?

In class last week, I had a couple express surprise when I said that all drugs get to the baby, including epidurals. They have friends that are doctors that have said otherwise. I have spent the week looking up several articles and resources, and, my friends, epidurals indeed adversely affect the baby. I do not want to make this an overwhelming post, so I will touch on the highlights of how the babies are affected.

First, it is important to note that the "older" studies with very significant data were largely done by pediatricians. The newer studies, found to not be nearly as complex, have been done by anesthesiologists. Obviously, there is a conflict of interest there!

There are a couple of problems that researchers have run into with these studies. The first is that so many women that have epidurals also have other "pain relieving" drugs in their bodies that also influence and affect the babies. This makes it difficult to assess the effects of just the epidural. In addition, epidurals have different drugs in them. Different anesthesiologists and/or hospitals will often use different drugs in their epidurals.

So many of the effects on the baby have to do with the effects on the mother from the epidural. I am not focusing on the effects for the mother in this post, however, but some of these effects on the mother is what creates a problem for the baby from the epidural. For example, maternal fever is very common and can cause complications for the babies. So is a drop in maternal blood pressure. This is why a woman will receive IV fluids before the epidural is administered -- it is a preventative measure.

Effects of the Epidural on the Baby

Epidurals can change the Fetal Heart Rate (FHR), indicating that the baby is lacking blood and oxygen. This will often occur in the first 30 minutes after an epidural is placed. Opiate drugs, common in spinals and epidurals, are the likely culprit. These changes in FHR will often resolve themselves if the mom is allowed to move a bit or change position. If the baby's heart rate does not bounce back, the woman may have a cesarean section.

The supine position (lying on your back), also contributes to changes in fetal heart rate. A woman with an epidural is mostly in this position, which can deprive the baby of oxygen, affecting the baby's brain. In my case, this is why I nearly had a c-section. I had the epidural, pitocin, etc., etc., and my baby's heart rate would not come up after contractions. Moving from side to side after each contraction is what helped his heart rate. Had I remained on my back, his heart rate would not have come back up, and I would have had surgery. Had my sister-in-law, a doula, not been there, I would have had a c-section. The nurses or doctors certainly weren't telling me what to do. They would have been happy to perform surgery, I have no doubt.

Babies that are born to mothers who developed a fever from the epidural in labor are more likely to have a low Apgar score -- poor muscle tone, require resuscitation (11.5% versus 3%), or have seizures in the newborn period. One of the most common problems from the maternal fever is that the doctors do not know if the fever was from an infection involving the uterus or from the epidural. They will typically do a sepsis, or evaluation, of the baby. This involves prolonged separation from the mother, invasive tests, and almost always, antibiotics until the test results are available. In a study of first-time mothers, 34% of epidural babies were given a sepsis evaluation, but only 9.8% of nonepidural babies underwent the evaluation.

It is important to note that a newborn's ability to process and get rid of drugs is much less than an adult's. It must also be considered that the drugs are often stored in the newborn's tissues such as the brain and liver where they are more slowly released. Epidural babies are more likely to have jaundice. The reasons are not entirely clear on this, but it is suspected that it is related to an increase in assisted delivery (forceps or vacuum extraction) or to the increase use of pitocin with epidurals.

Neurobehavioral Effects
Epidural babies have been found to have a depressed NBAS (Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Score, devised by pediatricians) Score at five days old, with difficulty "controlling their state." Babies that received pitocin as well as the epidural had even more depressed NBAS scores, as well as higher rates of jaundice. At one month of age, epidural mothers found their babies "less adaptable, more intense, and more bothersome in their behavior."

Other differences between epidural babies and unmedicated babies include: less alertness and ability to orient themselves. The epidural mothers typically spent less time with their babies while in the hospital, finding the more drugs they received, the less time they were with their baby.

In another study, researchers found that at three days old, epidural babies cried more easily and more often and aspects of this continued for the entire six weeks of the study. In the conclusion of this particular study, researchers expressed concern about "the importance of first encounters with a disorganized baby in shaping maternal expectations and interactive styles."

Finally, the effects of an epidural on breastfeeding must be addressed. The first hour is a critical time to establish breastfeeding and if a baby has poor muscle tone or sucking reflex, or mom is hemorrhaging (more likely with an epidural), breastfeeding may be put off until well past that hour. As I write this, I have mixed feelings. It is crucial that mothers understand the effects of their actions in choosing an epidural, but if something happens and for whatever reason you cannot breastfeed immediately, do not give up since you missed out on that first hour. Babies and moms can figure this out! With that being said, I will continue on the effects of the epidural on breastfeeding.

Oxytocin is a breastfeeding hormone. If a mom has been induced with pitocin, administered an epidural, had an instrumental delivery, etc., this hormone was not allowed to be present in its natural form. There were just too many disruptions. This can adversely affect how well breastfeeding gets started. If mom is tired, baby is still feeling the effects of the drugs and not sucking well, the nurses, and even the pediatrician, may be pushing formula on this baby. And then starts the vicious cycle of nipple confusion. The baby doesn't have to work to get milk from the bottle, and when he is put to the breast, gets frustrated. Mom gets frustrated and resorts to those stupid formula samples she's been receiving on her doorstep for months!

Epidural mothers are less likely to breastfeed exclusively compared to nonepidural mothers. Epidural mothers are more likely to report having "not enough milk."

It is unfortunate that doctors are leading people to believe that the epidural is safe for moms and babies and there are no risks. There are risks, not just to our health, but to how we parent our babies. The more attached you are, the better you will appreciate your baby. You will trust your body to breastfeed and your baby will be eager to nurse.

I'd like to end with a quote by musician, Ani DiFranco, talking about her unmedicated birth: "I'm really happy in the end that I felt every last bit of the pain, and was as present as I could be. Whenever you go through something terrifying and come out the other side, you grow and have more self-respect in terms of your own strengths. I wanted that more than I wanted whatever sort of numbing the hospital would have offered."

What's good for mom is good for baby. Just say NO to the epidural! You are strong and powerful. You can do this, just like millions of women before you have done this. Giving birth is giving life. You and your baby deserve the very best start down this new road. Surround yourself with positive people who believe in you and your abilities.
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Friday, November 20, 2009

The State of Delaware's High School Graduation Requirements beginning 2011 followed by Christina's

3.0 Graduation Requirements Beginning with the Class of 2011 http://www.doe.k12.de.us/infosuites/ddoe/gradreqs/update.shtml


3.1 Beginning with the graduating class of 2011, a public school student shall be granted a State of Delaware Diploma when such student has successfully completed a minimum of twenty two (22) credits in order to graduate including: four (4) credits in English Language Arts, four (4) credits in Mathematics; three (3) credits in Science, three (3) credits in Social Studies, one (1) credit in physical education, one half (1/2) credit in health education, three (3) credits in a Career Pathway, and three and one half (3 ½) credits in elective courses.
3.1.1 Students shall complete mathematics course work that includes no less than the equivalent of the traditional requirements of Geometry, Algebra I and Algebra II courses.
3.1.2 Scientific investigations related to the State Science Standards shall be included in all three science course requirements.
3.1.3 During the senior year students shall maintain a credit load each semester that earns them at least a majority of credits that could be taken that semester including one (1) of the four credits required in Mathematics.
3.1.3.1 Senior year credits shall include regular high school course offerings, the options available in 8.0 or a combination of both.
3.1.3.1.1 Options for the senior year in 3.1.3.1 that the districts and charter schools provide shall be submitted to the Department with a copy to the office of the State Board of Education for review.


Christina School District's High School Graduation Requirements:
http://www.christina.k12.de.us/Students/GraduationRequirements.htm

English ............................................................... 4 credits
Mathematics ...................................................... 4 credits
Science .............................................................. 3 credits
Social Studies ..................................................... 3 credits
Additional Science or Social Studies (choice) .......1 credit
Physical Education .............................................. 1 credit
Health ...............................................................  .50 credit
Computer Literacy .............................................  1 credit*
World Language ................................................. 1 credit
Career Pathway .................................................  3 credits
Electives .............................................................. 4.5 credits*
Senior Project ..................................................... 0 credit
Total Credits Required ....................................... 26 credits
Plus 60 Hours of Community Service

* Students who started with the Class of 2011 or beyond will not require a credit in computer literacy. Instead, those students must complete one additional elective credit for a total of 5.5 elective credits.
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Budget 2011, Education Spending Cuts

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Thursday, November 19, 2009

Part II: Will a Mandate to Circumcise Newborns Reduce the Spread of HIV in the United States?

I am hoping that you read the last post about the Studies that this possible mandate is based. If not, I encourage you to do so.

I have thought about the statistics all week long. When I hear that circumcision lowers risk for HIV infection by 50-60%, I automatically think in crazy numbers. When worded that way, it leads the reader to think that only 40-50% of the circumcised males may contract the HIV virus. Or that the uncircumcised males have a 50-60% increased risk of contracting HIV.

I'd just like to point out again that this 50-60% rate that keeps getting thrown in our face is based on a HALF PERCENTAGE POINT. There were many factors involved that were not kept track of. The men received extensive counseling on the benefits of using condoms and approximately 98% of the men did not contract the HIV virus.

Circumcising Newborns:
This would be a "preventative" measure that we would not see the effects of for many years. The complication rate ranges from 20%-35% (based on those African studies!), and this must be considered when weighing benefits and risks.

Ironically, we have an HIV epidemic in the US now, and the majority of those males are circumcised. The use of condoms has been shown to reduce the spread of HIV, and there has been no evidence that being circumcised and wearing condoms is any better than just using condoms alone. We have twice as many HIV infected males in the US as does Europe and our circumcision rates are significantly higher. According to many medical organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, in 2005, stated that the "data on the potential medical benefits of circumcision are not sufficient to recommend routine neonatal circumcision."

The way that HIV is transmitted in the US is so different from Africa, it is hard to even compare the two. We actually have an effective social program in place with education, safe-sex practices, and consistent condom use. These methods do not require surgery, are much more cost-effective, and they work! In fact, consistent condom use reduces the lifetime risk by 20% compared to only 8% for circumcision. A recent report from South Africa shows that condom use is increasing and the HIV rates are beginning to level off. There is no evidence that circumcision will aid in this progress.

Quite honestly, it is irresponsible for the CDC to even consider promoting an intervention that will create a false sense of security, while actually increasing the risk to women. Promoting circumcision will drain resources that should be put into safe-sex education and condom promotion.
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Monday, November 16, 2009

Elementary and Secondary Education Act: Comparability provisions may affect teachers

NCLB is overdue for re-authorization and will eventually make its way through Congress at the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). 

From Edweek.org
Education Department to Demand School Pay Data


Goal Is to Find Out How Spending Between Title I and Other Schools Differs

By Stephen Sawchuk

U.S. Department of Education officials plan to require districts receiving economic-stimulus aid to report school-level salaries—a sign, observers say, that the Obama administration might seek key changes to district accounting procedures for federal Title I funds.
The reporting—the first collection of its type undertaken by the federal government—could give a clearer picture about the extent to which district spending on salaries differs between schools that receive Title I dollars for disadvantaged students and those that do not.  Go HERE for the rest of the story...
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From the Bird's Nest

My Turn:

Each month, I try to recap the CSD BOE's Public Board Meeting.  As always, this posting is my interpretation of the events of the evening, and does not reflect in any way the views of the Christina School District nor speak for the board itself. These are NOT official minutes.  I do welcome any and all feedback.

Meeting commenced shortly after 7:30 pm with a moment of silence in honor of two CSD students who passed away in the last week, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.  There were no changes to the Agenda and the board approved minutes of the Oct. 13th Executive and Regular Meeting Sessions.

The meeting proceeded to the Honor Roll when we awarded certificates to all Students Achieving All 5's on the the DAPA Assessment Test.  The DAPA Assessment is an alternate assessment tool to the DSTP given to some children in special education.  The Board also commended Fostina Dixon-Kilgoe with the Outstanding Art Educator Award.  Students, Holly Firlein, Jessica Palmer, and Anna Dmytrenko, all of Newark High School, were honored for their achievements with the National Merit Scholarship.

Public Comment (As always, I apologize for any names that may be misspelled.)

Harrie Ellen Minnehan spoke regarding the use of ARRA funds to contract a vendor headquartered overseas to perform a district review and encouraged the district to look inward at it's own resources of Problem Solvers and Innovative Thinkers to perform any review internally.

M.J. Pulaski spoke regarding the CLEAR Review and use of ARRA funds and the perceived lack of community involvement in the decision.  She iterated the that better communication and imput from the community was needed and reminded the district that the measures of testing currently performed take teachers away from their jobs of teaching.

Mac Hatcher spoke on behalf of AFSCME.  He discussed the efforts of the district transportation employees to run a clean campaign for unionization.  He felt that the employees had a positive meeting with Dr. Lyles in which the union agreed it would not "trash" the district if the district remained neutral during the efforts. He expressed that AFSCME has an effective legislative lobby that could be helpful to the district, but was upset with the district for releasing "a union busting memo" after the board pledged , at a previous meeting, its adherence to the laws governing unionization.  He exceeded the time allotted for public comment and drew the ire of some board members who attempted to enforce the rules governing public comment.

Eric Carlin, a transportation employee, spoke on behalf of the employees seeking to unionize, reminding the district they live and work within the district and send their children to district schools.  He state that he "felt intimidated that the administration is against the campaign."

Maria Anderson yielded her time to Rosetta Hamilton who read the district-issued memo regarding unionization into the record.

Richmond Jones, another transportation employee addressed the board and asked "how much is it costing for a union busting lawyer?" and informed the district that a Freedom of Information Act request has been filed for those documents.

Claudia Bock, president of the Christina Education Association, spoke regarding the use of ARRA funding and the CLEAR Review.  She lamented past collaboration with previous superintendents and expressed that the the CEA feels it has been shut-out of decision-making processes in recent months.  She praised the district for participating in the Eastside Community Schools project in the city schools.  She read a letter on behalf of Rep. John Kowalko urging the district to withhold voting on the Cambridge Education Contract and Clear Review until after community sentiment, including that of legislators, could be culled.

One Board Member addressed Ms. Bock at this time and informed her that Cambridge was incorporated in Delaware and is an established entity.  Words were exchanged and Ms. Bock and her supporters left the meeting early.

John Robinson, a parent at Kirk Middle, spoke in support of a state-sponsored voucher program.  He stated that he has received a School Improvement Letter for the second year and urged the district that  the need for action is both "critical and imperative. "

Mindy Cox, a CSD parent spoke regarding the CLEAR Review, stating that the district is "neck-deep in data." and asking why stakeholders were not engaged in discussions of the study.  She asked the Board for a policy regarding community input and cited problems encountered by our schools such as classes that are too big, a need for more staff, and technology deficits.

Superintendent Lyles addressed the public to explain that the CLEAR Review is not a study, but a method for developing a consistent standard to measure our schools.

Public Comment Ended.

Following the board's vote to accept the FRC report, Dr. Lyles presented the Superintendent's Report, a review of her first 100 days in Christina, followed by the kickoff of Christina's Strategic Planning process.

Action Items:
A. The Board voted to accept the Administrative Personnel Recommendations
B. The Board voted 6-1 to accept the class size waivers recommendation.  I initiated conversation regarding the waivers, asking the administration to explain the need for waivers vs making smaller classrooms, which ultimately comes back to funding.  The district utilizes teaching units generated by student census on Sept. 30th.  Funding from those units is shared by the state and local funding.  If the district wants more teaching units, the cost of those units, including benefits, must come solely from local funds.  If we utilize ARRA funding for teaching units, we will be unable to sustain those units (pay those teachers) once the funding runs out in the next 1-2 years.
C. The Consent Agenda presented much conversation.  One board member asked for information regarding the web based Educational Resource System, used by our Douglass Distance Education program, Sarah Pyle Academy, and the three district high schools.  This year the district will also subscribe to a K-8 Prescription package.

I pulled C.7.t. , CLEAR Review for a separate vote.  There was much conversation around the CLEAR Review, it's purpose and the funding source.  The CLEAR Review is intended to evaluate all district schools and programs through the same critical lens, to identify where fidelity in implementation is occurring and what our weaknesses are.  Funding for the project comes ARRA funds granted to our district through the consolidated grant application.

Consent Agenda passed unanimously.
Item C.7.t, the CLEAR Review, was voted on separately, passed 5-2.  Mine was among the dissenting votes.  While I value the desire for the review, I feel that we proceeded too quickly in that there are questions around the recommended vendor, Cambridge Education.  Cambridge is incorporated in Delaware, but is headquartered overseas.  I asked the district/board to consider postponing the vote until we could confirm the use of ARRA funds with such vendor as within the scope of our fiduciary responsibilities.  The Board proceeded to vote citing urgency in improving the education of our students. 

The Board proceeded through the remaining items on the agenda with little fanfare. The night wrapped up with a quick presentation by a representative of the Parent Information Center (PIC) of Delaware which has developed Parent Information Resource Centers (PIRCs) in some of our schools this year.  The PIC is a fantastic resource for families and I encourage all to check out their website at http://www.picofdel.org/.

The meeting adjourned.

And that 's the commentary from the bird's nest.

Final Reminder -- These notes do not reflect the opinions of the district or board and are not official minutes!
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Friday, November 13, 2009

From Tennessee:

School Board's Bar on Repetitve Speech Upheld

A federal appeals court today upheld a school district's policy of barring frivolous...

from http://www.edweek.org/:

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/school_law/2009/11/court-upholds-school-boards-re.html#trackbacks
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Thursday, November 12, 2009

Racing Rules

Courtesy of Edweek.org.

Rules Set for $4 Billion 'Race to Top' Contest

By Michele McNeill

For a good shot at the $4 billion in grants from the federal Race to the Top Fund, states will need to make a persuasive case for their education reform agenda, demonstrate significant buy-in from local school districts, and develop plans to evaluate teachers and principals based on student performance, according to final regulations set for release Thursday by the U.S. Department of Education.

Those three factors will rank as the most important to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and his staff as they weigh states’ applications based on more than 30 criteria, including how friendly their charter school climates are and how well they use data to improve instruction.

At stake for states is a slice of the biggest single discretionary pool of education money in the economic-stimulus package passed by Congress in February—a $4.35 billion prize, of which $350 million has been pledged to help states develop common assessments as part of a separate nationwide effort.

Each winning state’s share of what’s left will depend on its population of children ages 5-17, according to nonbinding estimates provided by the department.

At the high end, the four biggest states—California, Florida, New York, and Texas—could get between $350 million and $700 million each. At the low end are the smallest student-population states, such as New Mexico, Delaware, and Vermont, which could get between $20 million and $75 million each.

Keep Reading HERE!
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