Judge Nathaniel R. Jones, retired United States Circuit judge for the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, currently Of Counsel with Blank Rome LLP and member of the Board of Directors of KnowledgeWorks in Cincinnati.

A Youngstown native, Judge Jones wrote in a Youngstown Vindicator Op-Ed about the Youngstown City Schools recently updated annual plan and why it falls short of needed reforms in City School Must Act Boldly:

That plan does not take up the bold reform we proposed and thus falls short of the systemic reform for which we were advocating. However, we do think their plan may achieve academic gains over the next few years, depending on success in implementation, and possibly even allow the schools to return to the community from state control over the next several years.

But our opinion is that following a course of incremental change for modest gains, building on an outdated model of schooling that heretofore has produced mostly poor outcomes, will not likely produce the kind of dramatic gains toward excellence we are advocating for and Youngstown students deserve.

With this situation, I am reminded of a report I co-authored with the Youngstown Leadership Conference 45 years ago. In that report, entitled “Past Neglects, Future Demands,” we concluded that significant and systemic changes were needed in the community to bring equality to all residents, which at that time was still very unequal.

Essentially, what we are stating to the community is that Youngstown is in a crisis and that there is urgency. The crisis and urgency result from the harsh truth that a rendezvous is occurring between past neglects and future demands. If citizens of Youngstown rise to the occasion, the rendezvous will be glorious. However, their failure to do so could be catastrophic.

Visit Vindy.com to read the full editorial.

This is an exciting time for all interested in science education. The first public draft of the Next Generation of Science Standards (NGSS) document is scheduled to be be available for review later today.

At EDWorks, we’re encouraging all to take the time to review this important document.  The public will have approximately three weeks to submit comments.

The NGSS is based upon A National Framework for K-12 Science Education. To prepare for the review of the NGSS draft document, it is essential to become familiar with the Framework document so that the draft NGSS review comments will align and to learn what the limits are for what can be included in the NGSS.

• For our schools in Michigan, the Michigan Mathematics and Science Centers have scheduled workshops for public review of the NGSS.
• For our partner schools in Ohio, the Ohio Department of Education has developed a webcast to help prepare potential reviewers with the necessary background information.
• For EDWorks schools in New York, the New York State Education Department has developed a website that contains archived webinars from the National Academies. The New York State Department of Education website provides a detailed historical progression with documentation of the overall process of the development of the National Science Framework and the Next Generation Science Standards.

If you don’t see information pertaining to your state here, reach out to your state’s Department of Education to learn about education opportunities available to you.

Guest Post by Esther Hopkins, a Technical Assistance Coach  for EDWorks.

Athletes from around the world are training for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games so they can prove that they are the best. At the end of their games / matches / races, the winners will stand on platforms and be given awards. Rewarded for years of hard work.

Although the required skill sets might be different, working in schools to help students succeed can take the same perseverance and determination we see from the world’s best athletes. There is no end of the race nor a three-tiered platform, but U.S. News and World Report is helping recognize success.

Five of our Fast Track early college high schools were just named among the Best High Schools in the United States and three received Bronze Medals:

• Dayton Early College Academy (DECA), Bronze Medal Award Winner
• Toledo Early College High School, Bronze Medal Award Winner
• Youngstown Early College High School, Bronze Medal Award Winner
• Akron Early College High School
• Columbus Africentric Early College

Learn more about how EDWorks Fast Track can help your schools achieve success.

Growing up, I wasn’t allowed to play video games. My parents subscribed to the “They’ll rot your brain!” theory. So I would sneak up the street and play on the neighbor’s Atari. The Rot You Brain theory, although still endorsed by my mother, is flawed, primarily because video games can be used as learning tools. There has been a rising awareness of, and interest in, gaming and how it can be combined with education.

The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) has recognized that there are too few America graduates in the STEM fields. Someday, qualified people will be needed to fill government positions and what will the results be if those people don’t exist? One solution DARPA came up with was to partner with TopCoder, an online development community. TopCoder was tasked by DARPA to create a series of educational games that would be fun but also teach STEM skills. All of the games are hosted on NoNameSite.com, which is open for all 13-18 year olds in US and has an ongoing stream of contests and giveaways featured around their eight fun games.

At EDWorks, we’ve been partnering with TopCoder to bring these games to three of our schools. Over the course of a four week period, students at three EDWorks’ partner schools are competing in a series of online games with a STEM focus:

• Alice in Booleanland
• Brando the Egg Hunter Extraordinaire
• Billiards
• Into the Claw

An online leaderboard is updated daily so that students can see how they are ranking. Participating schools in this event are: Central Collegiate Academy in Detroit, Michigan; Encore: Arts, Communication and Design Academy at Reynoldsburg High School in Reynoldsburg, Ohio; and the Health Science and Human Service Academy at Reynoldsburg High School in Reynoldsburg, Ohio.

For the last week, students have been using boolean logic to help Alice and for the first several other weeks of May they’ll be playing video games. And throughout, everyone is learning STEM skills.

Where’s an Atari when you need one?

Learn More

• Learn more about NoNameSite.com and TopCoder.
• Find out more about DARPA initiatives to strengthen STEM education.
• Read about EDWorks and its innovative high school work.

Willie E. Thompson Middle School and Arthur Hill High School in Saginaw, Michigan, were among the 28 schools in the state to receive School Improvement Grant (SIG) money from the Recovery Act of 2009.

In Brenda Álvarez’ article published by the National Education Association (NEA), Leann Bauer, president of the Saginaw Education Association, is quoted as saying, “We’re committed to providing quality education for every student. The resources we’ve received so far have allowed us to strengthen our practice and lead us in a direction that is more student-centered.”

EDWorks has been partnering with Willie E. Thompson Middle School and Arthur Hill High School, both New Start schools, to help meet that goal of quality education. Norman Siebenhar and Larry Mumford, EDWorks Technical Assistance Coaches, have been working with the team at Willie E. Thompson Middle School. “We’ve been focusing on professional development with an emphasis on the teaching and learning process,” Siebenhar said.

Siebenhar has seen success from increased use of high-payoff instructional strategies, especially literacy, and administrators assuming an active role as educational leaders.

At Arthur Hill High School, students are attending interest-based academies based on EDWorks models. “There are two academies,” explained Judythe Hummel, an EDWorks Technical Assistance coach. “One has a STEM focus while the other fosters innovation. Our goal is to support the students and helps them pursue their interests.”

Middle school students have been visiting the academies, setting them on a pathway for high school success.

“Saginaw’s economic realities are harsh, but those realities are not housed within Thompson or Arthur Hill,” said Álvarez in her NEA article. “The days of teachers versus school administrators are gone, and everyone is working collaboratively to create a learning environment that will not just help students, but will pull Saginaw out of further decline through a strong and educated workforce.”

Read the complete article, “Michigan’s Renaissance Starts with Reinvesting in Public Education.”

Learn more about EDWorks New Start.

An early college high school with a technical focus is getting some of the credit for helping make a town more high-tech. As part of their Made in America series, ABC news highlighted the transformation occurring in Malta, New York.

After seeing too much industry leaving their town, Malta city leaders convinced Global Foundries to build a factory based there, creating 1,300 new jobs. Part of what they were able to offer was a great education system that would help ensure an ongoing skilled workforce for the company.

Students at Technologies and Sustainable Industries Early College High School, an EDWorks partner school in the Smart Scholars program with the State University of New York, are getting a jump start on career readiness.

The school provides students with knowledge and skills necessary to make informed college and career decisions as they relate to the clean technology field. Students are dually enrolled in high school and college coursework with the potential of earning more than 20 college credits through Hudson Valley Community College.

See more about the transformation of Malta, New York, into a high-tech town.

The Teacher Education Study in Mathematics (TEDS-M) 2008, published this month, is the first international study that provides empirical data describing the content and pedagogical knowledge that future K-12 mathematics teachers receive from college mathematics teacher education.

According to the International Association for the Evaluation of Education Achievement (IEA), the study has two underlying purposes. “The first was to identify how the countries participating in TEDS-M prepare teachers to teach mathematics in primary and lower-secondary schools. The second was to study variation in the nature and impact of teacher education programs on mathematics teaching and learning within and across the participating countries.”

A list of the 17 participating countries can be found on the TEDS-M website.

The report highlights the importance of teacher preparation to the level of student performance of mathematical tasks.  The report links content and pedagogical knowledge combined as necessary for highly qualified teachers.

The report highlighted the weaknesses within the American teacher educational system, especially in mathematics.

The report does not address how to overcome this weakness, but other research shows positive results for using embedded teacher professional development.  Embedded teacher professional development, such as offered by EDWorks in its school models, improves teacher content and pedagogical knowledge in the classroom setting.

Read the full TEDS-M report.

Guest Post by Esther Hopkins, a Technical Assistance Coach  for EDWorks.

In an April 24 Fox Business column, writer Christina Couch pondered the question Is Education Still Worth the Debt?. Ms. Couch noted that college tuition costs are rising at three times the rate of inflation, federal Pell Grant funding is diminishing, student loan default rates are up and many employment opportunities are down. So is a college degree really worth what we always thought was? According to the article’s expert Lauren Asher, president of Institute for College Access & Success, yes, it really is still worth the expense. While college is expensive, the unemployment rate for those without a Bachelor’s Degree is about twice as high. Students who earn a Bachelor’s Degree also enjoy a significantly higher lifetime earning capacity. Asher also makes some strong suggestions for ways students can keep a “lid” on college debt.

While Asher’s suggestions are great, I challenge educators, parents and business leaders to think outside the box and consider starting an Early College High School in your community. For thousands of American high school students, Early College High School is a great way to maximize college credit hours earned and minimize debt. Since 2002, the partner organizations of the Early College High School Initiative have started or redesigned 240+ schools serving more than 75,000 students in 28 states and the District of Columbia. The schools are designed so that low-income youth, first-generation college goers, English language learners, students of color, and other young people underrepresented in higher education can simultaneously earn a high school diploma and an Associate’s degree or up to two years of credit toward a Bachelor’s degree—tuition free.

EDWorks, a subsidiary of KnowledgeWorks Foundation, is one of only thirteen partners in the United States offering supports to schools and communities interested in starting early college high schools. EDWorks’ Fast Track early college high schools are changing what it means to be a college student. Through Fast Track students receive a four-year academic roadmap that accelerates them through a rigorous high school course of study and as many as 60 hours of college credit before graduation in an atmosphere with high levels of support and expectation. Over 79% of the graduates of an EDWorks’ Fast Track early college high school complete at least one year of college before graduation, saving an average of $7,605 (per College Board 2010). Many students complete 60 hours or an associate’s degree before graduation which is an even greater savings.

To learn more visit EDWorks at www.edworkspartners.org.

In yesterday’s Cleveland Plain Dealer article entitled “Ohio’s education leaders want to overhaul 12th grade so students are ready for college, training”, Ohio’s Superintendent of Public Instruction and Board of Regents Chancellor challenged school leaders to reinvent the senior year in high school. Superintendent Heffner states “A high school senior year is in many ways a wasteland” and in 20 years of experience working with high schools that is very often the case. Students who are on-track to graduate have typically completed all or most of their required courses by the end of junior year and with the huge budget cuts most schools have implemented, there really aren’t many electives available.

So what can be done differently senior year to better prepare them for life after high school? EDWorks, a non-profit subsidiary of the KnowledgeWorks Foundation, collaborates with school leaders to completely re-think the high school experience. Our New Start interest-based academies offer smaller, more personalized academic experiences that culminate with Senior Capstone experiences, which are conducted in partnership with local businesses and non-profits. Next year, graduating seniors attending Reynoldsburg High School’s eSTEM Academy will have a three hour block every day focused on preparing students to succeed in one of four capstone areas. The remainder of the day will be available for internships, mentoring/service learning, college courses, blended learning and other electives.

EDWorks also works with high need communities to implement Fast Track early college high schools where underserved students are able to earn 45-60 college credits before the end of senior year. In fact, this year over 55% of the students graduating from Akron Early College High School will also earn an associate’s degree upon graduation.

What kinds of innovations are your schools doing which also help re-invent the senior experience?

To learn more about our models visit: www.edworkspartners.org.

Read the complete Cleveland Plain Dealer article.

Akron Early College High School

KnowledgeWorks Founder Chad Wick and his cohorts writing for the National Journal Education Experts Blog this week addressed the ever-expanding role of principals.

Blog editor Fawn Johnson referenced a  new report from  the Center for Public Education that says a principal’s responsibilities have grown beyond administrative duties to include core curriculum and student achievement goals, and many in the profession now feel the job is “undoable.”

In “The evolution of good principals,” Wick writes that today’s successful principal must become more collaborative, evolving with the needs of students, faculty and the varying demands heaped upon him or her. To read the entire blog post along with other entries, click here.