 Bringing you relevant news, research and policy updates
affecting children, youth and families. June 30, 2010 |
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Editor's Note
The Fourth of July recess is a great time to meet your representatives. There's a lot to talk to them about, as you'll see in this week's Capitol News, which is full of action alerts on investing in local jobs, extending assistance for struggling families, reauthorizing child nutrition and juvenile justice programs and more.In the last Update, we argued it was too soon to let concerns about the deficit trump economic recovery. This week, we bring you an important history lesson: fiscal health and economic health are not the same. Focusing too narrowly on fiscal health (debt and deficits) can jeopardize economic health (jobs and wages).In this Update, you'll also find new reports on improving high school graduation rates, research on how to improve schools, why school officials find it hard to apply research to school reform efforts and guidance on applying for home visitation grants for young families. We design the Update to give you the highlights. But, SparkAction is adding new resources, funding alerts and action alerts all the time, so be sure and check it out -- sparkaction.org.
Keep up the good work, everyone!
Jan
Jan Richter, editor emeritus, and the SparkAction Team
SparkAction gives visitors stories, information and tools to learn
about a range of issues and to take action to improve policies and
programs, and, ultimately, the fabric of our nation as a whole. To suggest content, email info@sparkaction.org. |
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 New from SparkAction
School
Climate & Academic Achievement: Scenes from a Congressional Briefing
The Obama Administration's blueprint for the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) reauthorization includes an emphasis on using data to improve students' safety, health and well-being. On June 15, the National Collaboration for Youth held a Capitol Hill briefing on school climate and how to use data to improve conditions for learning. Missed it? Check out this SparkAction video recap!
Also new on SparkAction:
Coming July 15: Breakthrough Communications Research
The public is ready for solutions-oriented stories on children's issues, according to new public opinion research by Douglas Gould & Company, commissioned by our partner Child Advocacy 360. What can advocates, researchers and others learn from the findings? SparkAction will release an exclusive video look on July 15.
Also on our editorial calendar: how a group of Covenant House charter schools in Detroit are successfully serving a uniquely at-risk population: homeless children and teens. Get the story on July 7.
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Transforming Schools
 Taking it Local: A Round-Up of Resources
Last week, it was Chicago. This week, it's New York City; evidence is mounting that small schools can boost achievement. Meanwhile, Detroit data indicates that closing schools and deliberately moving students into higher-performing environments may boost reading and math scores.
With big bucks pegged to teacher performance evaluations -- like Race to the Top funding -- school districts are trying to find the most effective ways to measure it. Preliminary research from the University of Chicago's Consortium on Chicago School Research suggests that the Charlotte Danielson Framework is a reliable tool, especially for identifying low-quality teaching.
The New York Times reports that New York City will try out a new model for improving low-performing schools this September. Schools will be permitted to hire master teachers and turnaround teachers, paid as much as 30 percent more than their base salaries, to train other teachers in addition to full-time teaching duties.
Based on the successful Harlem Children's Zone approach, the new federal Promise Neighborhoods initiative takes a "whole village" approach to provide for children's health, development and learning needs. Public School Insights has an interview with the head of Boston's City Connects program that has been boosting achievement levels and narrowing learning gaps by linking students with community programs and services.
Want the latest on what works in after-school programming and how it connects to education and youth development? Register by July 6 for the July 12 to 15 National Institute on Out-of-School TimeJuly Summer Seminars in Boston.
Also of Note:
"Using Evidence for a Change": A Forum on Research and Practice in Education
Research can provide data to identify the scope and scale of a problem in a school district -- but using research to guide solutions is not so easy. Practitioners are often skeptical of research "pushed" to serve a specific agenda. They also have little time to study findings, apply lessons learned or bring promising ideas to scale. Learn more from this summary of a Public School Insights Forum, hosted by Knowledge Alliance and Learning First Alliance in DC.
Boosting Family Involvement Through Better Policy
Research points to how important it is that parents partner with schools. In practice, family involvement, especially among disadvantaged families, is superficial at best. The Harvard Family Research Project recently looked at ways to replace current marginalized and piecemeal policy efforts so that family involvement becomes seen as a major part of the effort to achieve educational equity.
July 8 Webinar: Online Learning: Addressing Challenges, Seizing Opportunities
America's K-12 education system faces three significant challenges: (1) increased global demands for skilled workers, (2) significant financial shortfalls, and (3) a looming teacher shortage. The Alliance for Excellent Education argues that the accumulating impact of these challenges demands a more innovative and efficient education system -- like one that uses technology better to meet student' needs. Register by July 6.
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Capitol News: Ideas for Action in DC and Beyond HR4213 - Still Waiting for Senate Approval
The Senate failed to pass a jobs/assistance "extenders" bill before the July 4 recess. This is a top priority for those who care about struggling families and economic growth! 
July 7: National Juvenile Justice Call-In Day
Members of the National Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Coalition are sparking action in a national call-in day to push Congress to reauthorize the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act that restores and increases federal juvenile justice appropriations and pass the Youth PROMISE Act.
Coalition to Push for the DREAM Act
The mood of the country is anti-immigrant right now. But, why make the bar to college too high for students who graduate high school but have no citizenship? A coalition has formed to keep pushing for the DREAM Act, which would provide a legitimate pathway to citizenship for undocumented high school graduates.
Hunger Takes No Vacation
This Food Research and Action Center report shows that, with some exceptions, many state cuts to summer school and other programs are reducing the numbers of eligible children who have access to summer meals just when they are needed the most. Local Jobs Act
Senate introduction of the Local Jobs for America Act is a major step towards saving or creating 750,000 jobs -- firefighters, police, teachers - that serve local communities. The Coalition on Human Needs has a sign-on letter.Youth Corps ActThe Youth Corps Act, H.R. 5376 and S. 3178, would establish a grant program at the Department of Labor to support Corps in providing education and training to disadvantaged youth. Touch base with Sally Prouty for the current list of co-sponsors and to let us know if you can help attract additional co-sponsors.  Student Loans: One Down, One to GoThere is good news for the future of student loans. The new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, part of the financial reform bill that Congress is expected to approve soon, would have authority for all kinds of student loans, including the growing sector of private, non-federal loans. The legislation would also create a separate student-loan ombudsman to give borrowers a central place to turn for help with problems or concerns, reports EdWeek. But despite billions in new Pell grant funding for future students, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (USPIRG) warns that students going to school in 2011 could see their grants cut, because enrollment in higher education may be so much higher than anticipated. USPIRG is working to pass a supplemental budget bill, HR 4899, that will include $5 billion to maintain Pell grant levels for next year. Ensuring Better Safety for Teen DriversSummer is a high-risk season for teen drivers. Sen. Klobuchar (D-MN) is introducing legislation focused on teen driving safety.
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Land of Opportunity -- Only for the Wealthy?
A Look at the Latest Findings
Since 1977, wealthy households have been getting wealthier, leaving middle- and low-income families "in the dust." Even worse, housing costs, especially for the lowest-wage families, have been increasing -- taking more than half the family budget among those in the lowest income brackets. 
While only a few may have reaped the gains during boom times, the Pew Center reports that more than half of the American workforce has been directly affected.
If Congress allows the tax credit improvement to expire, a family with two children in which a parent is working at a full-time, minimum wage job will see its child credit fall from $1,725 to $248. In a new analysis, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reports that ending the child care tax credit for low-income families will heavily impact rural areas where nearly 3.3 million low-income children live.
While typical family incomes have not kept pace with those of the wealthy, federal investments in children and youth programs have declined as well. There was a brief break in this bleak picture last year, thanks mostly to the new funding in the American Recovery act. First Focus will release the newest analysis of federal spending on children and youth on July 14.
July 12 Brown Bag Briefing: Recession and Recovery: How are Americans Affected?
The Population Association of America is sponsoring a panel of researchers who will present findings on how economic downturns affect the most vulnerable U.S. populations: children, young adults and older Americans. For more information or to RSVP, email Juliane Baron.
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 The Early Years: Off to a Good Start
New Tools on Home Visitation
Opportunities like the new federal home visiting grant program offer states a chance to build an infrastructure to support high-quality assessment and programming. ZERO TO THREE has a new Self-Assessment Toolkit for States that defines the home visiting system and helps states assess their capacity and prioritize areas for improvement. - Interested in applying for a home visitation program grant? Applications due July 9. Early Ed Watch explains the application process for this federal funding stream.
- Also: the National Center for Children in Poverty reports on how states can use Part C federal funding to better train staff and reach more young families at risk.
Promoting Young Children's Health and Development
This new report from the National Center for Children in Poverty summarizes state policy decisions in key areas -- access to health care and continuity of care, maternal health care and preventive screening and assessment -- to ensure school readiness.
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Spotlight on Older Youth
Health Care Provision for Young Adults -- Not So Fast
That's what many parents are hearing in regard to covering their adult children under the new health care law. The law requires insurance companies to allow parents to include adult children (up to age 26) on their plan beginning September 23, but the fine print says the coverage must begin when the policy is renewed -- which may be as late as May 2011. The Obama Administration is urging employers and insurance companies to opt for an earlier time, but many do not want to incur the costs, reports the Washington Post.
Path to Opportunity: Education Department Videos
The Education Department's online videos profile young adults attending community colleges, highlighting the key role that community colleges play in preparing adults for success in the workplace.
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Dropout Prevention: Essential for a Strong Economy 
Diplomas Count 2010
The 2010 Diplomas Count, an annual EdWeek report, explores the graduation rate challenges facing many students and districts and looks at how schools are using data to help students finish high school.
Federal Funding for Dropout Prevention
The federal grant application period for the High School Graduation Initiative Program, also known as the School Dropout Prevention Program is now open. Letters of intent are due July 7 and full applications are due July 28.
July 1 Webinar: Can School Improvement Grants Save the Lowest-Performing Schools?
Have questions about School Improvement Grants or the turnaround models favored by the Obama Administration? Want to know whether the Congress will consider alternative approaches to school turnaround as it works to reform NCLB? Join this Alliance for Excellent Education webinar.
July 7 Webinar: The Economic Benefits of Reducing the Dropout Rate: An Analysis of Students of Color in the Nation's Largest Metropolitan Areas
The most recent estimate shows that high school graduation rates for African American, Latino and American Indian students hover only slightly higher than 50 percent, more than 20 percentage points lower than that of their white peers. The Alliance for Excellent Education discusses the benefits -- affecting home and auto sales, tax revenues, jobs and economic growth and spending and investment -- of reducing the dropout rate among students of color in the largest metro areas, and how to address the challenge.
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Caitlin Johnson and Thaddeus Ferber
SparkAction and the Forum for Youth Investment
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