- Enrollment Climbs in D.C. Public Schools, Preliminary Count Shows [FOCUS is mentioned]
- Forty Percent of Children in D.C. Public Schools Now in Charters
- Charter Enrollment Up, DCPS Down in Raw Count
- Editorial: Occupy D.C. Schools
- Kaya Henderson’s Sudden Turn in the Spotlight
- The Closing of More D.C. Schools
- Education Secretary Defends Tuition Breaks for Children of Illegals
- Public School Teachers Aren't Underpaid
Enrollment Climbs in D.C. Public Schools, Preliminary Count Shows [FOCUS is mentioned]
The Washington Examiner
By Lisa Gartner
November 7, 2011
Enrollment rose in the District's public schools for the third straight year, with a 1-percent uptick in D.C. Public Schools' head count and a 9-percent surge in charter school students, according to preliminary counts.
D.C. Public Schools gained 560 students to bring enrollment to 46,191 this fall, according to the initial count, which would be the second consecutive year that the school system has grown. Final numbers -- which will be audited and released in late January -- traditionally have been slightly less than the initial Oct. 5 estimates. Last year's October count was 46,515, over 300 more than this year.
DCPS' population grew 2 percent in 2010-2011, the first time enrollment increased since 1969.
In comparison, the city's public charter schools grew to 32,009 students -- 2,643 students more than last year, continuing a trend of huge year-to-year growth since charter schools hit the city 15 years ago.
About 40 percent of public school students in the District attend charters, the second-highest rate in the nation to New Orleans.
"Although these numbers are not final and cannot be certified until we finish our formal audit, I think the mayor's focus on the importance of pre-K education is reaching our parents, as our initial numbers indicate the largest area of increase is coming from pre-K levels," said Superintendent Hosanna Mahaley.
There's no question that charter school growth is outpacing that of D.C. Public Schools, even as both make gains. "DCPS is working very hard to improve, but they're still asking parents to wait while improvement goes on, and parents are tired of that," said Robert Cane, executive director of Friends of Choice in Urban Schools, a nonprofit that advocates for charter schools. "They want better schools for their kids now... You only have one shot for your kids to be in school."
Still, a second year of population growth for DCPS would be historic, analysts agreed -- and it's not just a matter of the economy clamping down on private-school plans. "The decline of attendance in DCPS has been going on for so long that it's persisted through periods of economic decline and growth," said Tom Loveless, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.
A spokesman for D.C. Public Schools did not reply to phone calls or emails.
Picking his son up from a charter school in Northeast, local political analyst Chuck Thies said increased confidence in the city's schools -- DCPS and charters -- was a major trigger.
"There are a lot of parents whose kids are just becoming school-aged," said Thies, above the shouts of children. "Two, three, four years ago, these were the people with a watchful eye on the city."
Forty Percent of Children in D.C. Public Schools Now in Charters
The Washington Post
By Bill Turque
November 7, 2011
Charter school enrollment in the District, which made up a scant 5 percent of the total public school population in 1998, has broken the 40 percent mark, according to preliminary figures released Monday.
The unaudited data, based on an Oct. 5 count, show charter enrollment at 32,009, an 8.2 percent boost over last fall’s 29,557. Traditional public school enrollment, which ticked up last fall for the first time in four decades, dipped slightly to 46,191, down less than 1 percent (419 students) from last October.
The numbers have been turned over to outside auditors retained by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education to be verified for residency and other requirements. Final figures are expected early next year.
If the trends hold, it means that the “market share” for traditional public schools will for the first time be less than 60 percent. The data also affirm the continued robust growth of the charter sector, which served fewer than 3,600 students in the 1998-99 academic year. There are now 53 charter schools on 98 campuses.
“We’re delighted to see the continued, steady growth in charter school enrollment in the District,” Brian W. Jones, chairman of the D.C. Public Charter School Board, said in a statement.
Fred Lewis, a spokesman for D.C. Public Schools, said nearly all of the enrollment decline in the traditional system was at four schools that encountered what he called “bad press” in the 2010-11 academic year: Dunbar High School, Hardy Middle School, Noyes Education Campus and Thomson Elementary. Dunbar’s New York-based management group, Friends of Bedford, was dismissed by Chancellor Kaya Henderson last December for poor performance. Hardy was roiled by changes in the principal’s office and Noyes by allegations of cheating by teachers and staff on the DC CAS tests. Thomson made headlines when some students were sickened by a classmate who brought cocaine to class.
Mayor Vincent C. Gray chose to celebrate the overall growth of the city’s public schools, which have seen three years of increases on the strength of charters’ expansion. Total enrollment is up 2.7 percent over October 2010, to 78,200.
“These numbers represent more than a renewed trust and confidence in our public school system, it also reflects great improvements that have been made in recent years — educational as well as capital — combined with the great job our principals and teachers are doing in classrooms and schools across the District every day,” Gray said.
Charter Enrollment Up, DCPS Down in Raw Count
The Washington Post
By Bill Turque
November 7, 2011
Last year’s historic uptick in DCPS enrollment--the first in four decades--might be short-lived. Officials said late Friday that this year’s unaudited October count came in at 46,191--that’s down 419 students, about six-tenths of a percent-- from last fall’s 46,515. That was when the District received a 1.6 percent bump over 2009.
The city’s public charter schools continued their robust growth. The Public Charter School Board reported unaudited enrollment at 32,009--an 8.2 percent boost over last October’s 29,557.
All of these numbers now go to an outside auditor, retained by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE), who verifies them for residency and other requirements. The audited figures, available early next year, are usually a bit lower.
DCPS spokesman Fred Lewis said nearly all of the decline was concentrated at four schools that encountered what he called “bad press” in 2010-11: Dunbar High School, Hardy Middle School, Noyes Education Campus and Thomson Elementary. Dunbar’s New York-based management group, Friends of Bedford, was dismissed by Chancellor Kaya Henderson in late 2010 for poor performance. Hardy was roiled by leadership changes, Noyes by cheating allegations and Thomson when students were sickened by a classmate who brought cocaine to class.
Per usual, the District declined to release detailed, school-by-school numbers until after the audit. Overall, Lewis said, enrollment “continues to be stable” after years of steep decline. Preschool and pre-K enrollment continues to increase, and ninth grade experienced a boost this year, bolstered by strong showings at newly modernized Eastern, Woodson and Wilson high schools.
The numbers have apparently been available for at least a couple of weeks. At the urging of a source, I asked DCPS on Friday afternoon. After I received them I contacted D.C. Public Charter School Board, where an exasperated official said that they were under orders from Mayor Vincent C. Gray’s office to sit on them until a joint DCPS-charter announcement could be arranged. When she learned that DCPS had coughed theirs up, she released the charter count.
Editorial: Occupy D.C. Schools
The Washington Times
By Staff
November 7, 2011
Washington’s public schools have their problems, but the lack of iPads and iPhones isn’t anywhere near the top of the list. That didn’t stop agitators from setting up a candlelight vigil this weekend at Turner at Green Elementary School in Southeast. They were there to demand additional federal stimulus money be poured into the educational system.
According to the group OurDC, grade schools in the nation’s capital are suffering from a lack of high-tech gizmos. “My school needs the other apples,” the gathered students were told to chant. OurDC orchestrated the stunt to push for passage of President Obama’s American Jobs Act, which includes an $85 million handout that would allow schools to purchase the trendy electronic products from Cupertino.
Education Week’s latest annual performance ranking gave D.C. public schools a “D+,” but that had nothing to do with a lack of cash. The amount of money the District spends per pupil is at the top of the charts - especially the amount devoted to school administrators. Big Labor sees the school system as a cash cow for its membership. Little wonder that the address for OurDC, 1800 Massachusetts Ave N.W., happens to also be the headquarters of the Service Employees International Union.
These aren’t concerned parents looking to improve their children’s future. Rather, these are highly partisan goons who have gone out of their way to harass Republican members of Congress at their homes and churches, going so far as to show up wearing clown suits at Rep. Frank Wolf’s Herndon office because the Virginia Republican voted against a big-spending project.
Former D.C. schools chief Michelle Rhee showed that writing a fat check to the existing bureaucracy isn’t the key to success. She boosted test scores by shoving underperforming teachers and principals out the door. The unions and entrenched bureaucracy didn’t take kindly to her upsetting their cushy system and she was forced to resign after the election of Mayor Vincent C. Gray.
Having accountable teachers devoted to instructing children on the fundamentals of reading, writing and arithmetic is what matters. The District’s pupils would be better served by unplugging all the gizmos that are little more than a distraction from the real academic subjects.
Kaya Henderson’s Sudden Turn in the Spotlight
The Washington Post
By Bill Turque
November 7, 2011
Looks like November is Kaya Henderson Month in the school reform world. Last week, the D.C. schools chancellor traveled to New York to accept the Aspen Institute Public Leadership Award. Other winners: former New York City schools chancellor Joel I. Klein and Newark Mayor Cory Booker.
On Monday, Teach for America founder and chief executive Wendy Kopp, via Forbes, named Henderson one of the seven most powerful educators in the known universe (actually just the world, and Kopp said she chose them because they are “not often in the national spotlight”).
“Kaya stepped up to the chancellorship in a rancorous environment and brought the whole community’s teachers, principals, parents, and civic leaders together in the process,” Kopp wrote. She might get some pushback on that, especially from parents and community leaders in wards 7 and 8, who are unhappy about Henderson pulling the plug — temporarily, at least — on the school system’s Parent and Family Resource Centers in those communities.
Henderson, who has made a point of keeping a lower national profile than her predecessor, Michelle A. Rhee, said there’s been no change of plan. “Definitely odd,” she said in an e-mail. “Here’s hoping for a quiet December!”
The two announcements are reminders of Teach for America’s huge footprint in this world. Walter Isaacson, president and chief executive of the Aspen Institute, also chairs TFA’s national board of directors. And four of the “seven most powerful” educators selected by Kopp, including Henderson, happen to be TFA alums.
The Closing of More D.C. Schools
The Washington Informer
By Candi Peterson
November 7, 2011
Empower DC, a well respected community grassroots organization hosted a gathering on Thurs., Nov.3 at the Dorothy Height Library to discuss D.C.'s plans to close more traditional public schools.
People assembled from all walks of life, including Ward 7 residents, parents, teachers, former principals, and representatives from Teamsters-local 639 attended.
Daniel del Pielago, organizer and facilitator of the meeting reminded attendees that District of Columbia Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson told parents last spring that the city could not afford to continue to operate more than 40 schools with enrollment figures lower than 300 students.
This summer, a decision was made by Deputy Mayor of Education De'Shawn Wright to commission the Illinois Facilities Fund (IFF) to conduct a foundational study which will help determine which schools will be proposed for closure.
While IFF has done similar studies in Chicago, Denver, Milwaukee and St Louis, it is interesting that funding for this project was provided by the Walton Family Foundation, which owns Walmart. No competitive bidding process occurred, and it is expected that the study will be completed by the end of November.
This study will be looking at schools' test scores to determine if a school is "performing" or not. They will not take into consideration other ways that a school is excelling for its students, parents and community.
In similar studies, schools were determined to either be performing or not performing based on whether they meet or exceed 75 percent of the state standard in both reading and math.
In D.C., that standard would equate to 55 percent or more proficiency rates on the DC CAS. The following figures reflect the number of "under performing DCPS schools" by wards: Ward 1 = 8 schools, Ward 2 = 3 schools, Ward 3 = 0 schools, Ward 4 = 11 schools, Ward 5 = 11 schools, Ward 6 = 11 schools, Ward 7 = 20 schools, and Ward 8 = 20 schools.
D.C. could potentially face high closure rates in some of its poorest wards.
After closing 23 schools during the Michelle Rhee administration in 2008, DCPS saw a 17 percent drop off rate in enrollment, according to Washington Examiner reporter Michael Neibauer's in his September 8, 2008 article: "DC Public Schools Enrollment Shows 17 Percent Drop Off."
Mary Levy, who was quoted in Neibauer's 2008 article stated that "parents want some certainty, and closing schools is pretty much guaranteed to lead to loss of enrollment because we have so many other options."
Those at the Empower DC meeting echoed these same concerns that were voiced in 2008.
Many at the meeting saw the goal of another round of school closures as part of an ongoing reform model to privatize public education by closing traditional public schools with plans of replacing them with charter schools.
Participants chimed in that D.C. Public Schools had not been transparent during this process and that the study had no plans to include focus groups of critical stakeholders.
While Deputy Mayor Wright has been quoted as saying there will be public input, it seems that community input will not be considered until after the preliminary analysis.
The meeting concluded with a brainstorming of ideas on next steps to fight closures of the city's traditional public schools. Plans are being made for additional meetings to be held throughout the city. Participants were encouraged to spread the word and get members from their school communities actively involved.
Education Secretary Defends Tuition Breaks for Children of Illegals
The Washington Times
By Kimberly Hefling
November 7, 2011
Despite criticism of the idea from many in the Republican presidential field, Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Monday he is encouraged that some states are allowing the children of illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition rates at public colleges.
Mr. Duncan pointed to Rhode Island, where this fall the Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education unanimously approved in-state tuition for illegal immigrants starting in the fall of 2012.
A dozen other states have similar laws or policies, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In contrast, four states have laws specifically prohibiting illegal-immigrant students from receiving in-state tuition rates, and two states bar those who are illegally in the country from attending public secondary schools altogether, the National Conference of State Legislatures said.
The topic has emerged as a point of sharp contention in the GOP presidential primary race, with Texas Gov. Rick Perry taking criticism from rivals for supporting a law that allows illegal immigrants to get in-state tuition rates at Texas universities if they meet other residency requirements.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, in one recent debate exchange with Mr. Perry, said the Texas tuition program was effectively a “magnet to draw illegals into the state,” and made controlling the border and stemming the tide of illegal immigration from Mexico more difficult.
Mr. Duncan said some of the children of illegal immigrants came to the United States when they were infants. He said the United States is their home, where they’ve worked hard in school and taken on leadership roles. For too long, he said, the U.S. policy toward them has been backward.
“They are either going to be taxpayers and productive citizens and entrepreneurs and innovators, or they are going to be on the sidelines and a drag on the economy,” Mr. Duncan said in an interview.
The Pew Hispanic Center has said the number of Hispanic college students aged 18 to 24 increased by 24 percent, meaning about 35,000 additional young Hispanics were in college in 2010 compared with a year earlier. It’s the largest such increase. Mr. Duncan said he was pleased to see the increase and will be monitoring the students to see if they graduate.
Mr. Duncan supported the so-called “Dream Act,” which Congress failed to pass last year. That legislation would have allowed young people to become legal U.S. residents after spending two years in college or the military. It applied to those who were under 16 when they arrived in the U.S., had been in the country at least five years and had a diploma from a U.S. high school or the equivalent.
Also on Monday, the Lumina Foundation, which seeks to expand educational opportunities for students beyond high school, announced it will provide $7.2 million over a four-year period to 12 partnerships in 10 states with significant and growing Hispanic populations. The effort seeks to leverage community leaders across the education, business and nonprofit sector.
Public School Teachers Aren't Underpaid
The Wall Street Journal
By Andrew G. Briggs and Jason Richwine
November 8, 2011
A common story line in American education policy is that public school teachers are underpaid—"desperately underpaid," according to Education Secretary Arne Duncan in a recent speech. As former first lady Laura Bush put it: "Salaries are too low. We all know that. We need to figure out a way to pay teachers more."
Good teachers are crucial to a strong economy and a healthy civil society, and they should be paid at a level commensurate with their skills. But the evidence shows that public school teachers' total compensation amounts to roughly $1.50 for every $1 that their skills could garner in a private sector job.
How could that be? First, consider salaries. Public school teachers do receive salaries 19.3% lower than similarly-educated private workers, according to our analysis of Census Bureau data. However, a majority of public school teachers were education majors in college, and more than two in three received their highest degree (typically a master's) in an education-related field. A salary comparison that controls only for years spent in school makes no distinction between degrees in education and those in biology, mathematics, history or other demanding fields.
Education is widely regarded by researchers and college students alike as one of the easiest fields of study, and one that features substantially higher average grades than most other college majors. On objective tests of cognitive ability such as the SAT, ACT, GRE (Graduate Record Examination) and Armed Forces Qualification Test, teachers score only around the 40th percentile of college graduates. If we compare teachers and non-teachers with similar AFQT scores, the teacher salary penalty disappears.
While salaries are about even, fringe benefits push teacher compensation well ahead of comparable employees in the private economy. The trouble is that many of these benefits are hidden, meaning that lawmakers, taxpayers and even teachers themselves are sometimes unaware of them.
Data on employee benefits from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), for example, do not include retiree health coverage, which for teachers is worth about an additional 10% of their salaries. Because of differing accounting rules between the public and private sectors, BLS data also make teachers' defined-benefit pensions appear only slightly more generous than the typical 401(k) plan found in the private sector.
In reality, a teacher who retired after 30 years of service with an annual salary of $40,000 might receive guaranteed annual pension benefits of about $20,330. Under a typical private 401(k) plan, a guaranteed annual benefit might be only around $4,450 (assuming the money is invested in U.S. Treasurys and the employee buys an annuity).
BLS data on paid leave for teachers count vacation days only during the school year, omitting summer and long holiday breaks. A valid pay comparison should include this extra time off, in which teachers can enjoy longer vacations or earn additional income.
Properly counted, a typical public school teacher with a salary of $51,000 would receive another $51,480 in present or future fringe benefits. A worker in private business with the same salary would receive around $22,185 in fringe benefits.
Finally, despite recent layoffs, teachers still have greater job security than workers in private businesses. While employment in education declined by 2.9% between September 2008 and July 2011, according to BLS data, overall private-sector employment declined by 4.4%. Moreover, from 2005 through 2010 the unemployment rate for public school teachers averaged 2.1%, versus 4.1% for private school teachers and 3.8% for occupations that some consider comparable, such as computer programmers and insurance underwriters.
Job security protects against the loss of compensation suffered by the unemployed, and it also protects a position in which total wages and benefits are on average above market levels. This job security is surely valuable.
Consider that one-fifth of the highest-performing public school teachers in Washington, D.C., recently declined to give up even part of their job security in exchange for base salary increases of up to $20,000. According to our model—which factors in the probability of becoming unemployed, the average duration of unemployment, the level of unemployment insurance benefits, and the risk aversion of public employees—job security is worth about an estimated extra 9% of compensation.
One important caveat: Our research is in terms of averages. The best public school teachers—especially those teaching difficult subjects such as math and science—may well be underpaid compared to counterparts in the private sector.
Nevertheless, most public school teachers would not earn more in private employment. According to our analysis of the Census Bureau's Survey of Income and Program Participation, the average person who moves into teaching receives a pay increase of almost 9%, while the average teacher who leaves for the private economy must take a pay cut of over 3%.
This is the opposite of what we would expect if teachers were underpaid. It also helps explain why more people seek teaching jobs—as measured through the number of teaching graduates and applications for teaching positions—than can possibly find them.
In short, combining salaries, fringe benefits and job security, we have calculated that public school teachers receive around 52% more in average compensation than they could earn in the private sector.
The compensation premium is especially relevant today, as states and localities struggle with budget deficits. Restraining the growth of teacher compensation—in particular, pension and retiree health benefits that outstrip what comparable private-sector workers receive—could help balance budgets and perhaps restore school resources lost to rising labor costs. Broader pay reform should give school administrators greater flexibility to reward the best or most-needed teachers with high salaries and benefits, while encouraging the least effective ones to improve or to leave the profession.
Effective reform, however, requires knowing all the facts about teacher pay. Policy makers and the public should not accept at face value that the typical teacher earns far less than he or she would in the private sector. The evidence points to a very different conclusion.
Mr. Biggs, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, and Mr. Richwine, a senior policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation, are authors of the new paper, "Assessing the Compensation of Public School Teachers" (aei.org/paper/100259).