January 27, 2007 is the deadline for nominations for the Friends of Education Awards coordinated by the Confidence in Public Education Task Force.

The Friends of Education Awards program recognizes volunteer efforts throughout the state.  Nominations are solicited in five categories:

• School Volunteer, 
• Community Leader,
• Community/Civic Organizations,
• Private/Public Sector Institutions and
• Partner Activity.

Information is now available on the Confidence in Public Education Task Force Web site www.ksconfidencetaskforce.org.  Nominees will be honored at a special 25th Anniversary Friends of Education Banquet Saturday, April 21, 2007.

Student achievement continues to increase across Kansas. State assessment results show 1,172 schools will receive a building-wide Standard of Excellence award that recognizes their ability to raise student performance.

The Standard of Excellence honors indicate that achievement in the top three rating categories (exemplary, exceeds standards and meets standards) remain strong.

“The Standard of Excellence takes into account the achievement of all students,” said Dr. Tom Foster, Deputy Commission of Learning Services for the Kansas State Department of Education.  “This award requires a school to focus on the learning of all children – the brightest and the neediest – not just those in the middle.  Schools that achieve this standard truly demonstrate excellence in teaching and learning for Kansas children.”

"For more than a decade now, Kansas public schools have shown continued progress in raising achievement for all students and retained our ranking among the highest states for student achievement nationally," said KNEA President Blake West. "While we have made progress in the past decade in closing achievement gaps between subgroups, those gaps have not been eliminated and working to make a difference for each student, regardless of parents income, race, gender, etc. is a top priority for KNEA and our members.

"The current No Child Left Behind law has tended to take too much instruction time for testing and dangerously narrow the curriculum in some schools.  We look forward to the upcoming NCLB reauthorization. Our goals include fixing weaknesses in the law and fully funding its requirements so that it truly meets the needs of Kansas students and families," he added. "To maintain the high quality schools and continue our efforts for improvement, we also need to raise teacher salaries at least to the national average so that we can attract and retain the next generation of teachers and school leaders into the education profession."

This is the first year for building-level awards for schools.  Previously, only grade-level awards were available for grades 5, 8, and 11 in reading and grades 4, 7, and 10 in math.  With the inception of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) testing in grades 3 through 8 and high school, a building-level award recognized overall student achievement in a school.  In all, 4,567 building-wide and grade-level Standard of Excellence Awards will be given to Kansas schools this year.

To receive a Standard of Excellence Award (at the elementary school level), the school must have at least 25 percent of its students score exemplary on the state assessment and no more than five percent of its students on academic warning. In middle schools, at least 20 percent of students must score exemplary on the assessments and no more than 10 percent of students can be on academic warning. High schools must have 15 percent of its students score exemplary and no more than 10 percent of students on academic warning.

Reading Outshines Math 

This year 2,689 awards, including 720 building-wide awards, will be given in reading.  In math 1,878 awards, including 452 building-wide honors will be given to schools. Last year 407 grade level awards in reading were given and 707 awards were given in math.  

Substantially more Standard of Excellence Awards are being given in reading to the same grades that tested last year – up from 407 awards to 862 this year.  Eighth-grade reading saw the biggest gains from 87 awards given last year to 269 awards this year.

While more Standard of Excellence awards were earned overall this year in math, fewer grade-level awards will be given to the same grades tested previously – down from 707 awards to 517.   Fourth-grade math saw the biggest decline from 464 awards last year to 280 awards this year. It is unknown at this time what factors may have contributed to the decrease.

History

The Kansas State Board of Education has established very high expectations for academic achievement for both Kansas schools and for individual students.  These expectations are called the “Standard of Excellence.”  An excellence standard establishes a “world class” benchmark of performance for either an individual student or for a group of students for the particular skill assessed.  A Standard of Excellence, in tandem with other achievement measures, is used to interpret performance on the Kansas assessments.

The Standard of Excellence, in use since 1995, is based on a distribution of student scores across the five student performance levels of the state assessments for each content area tested.  Input from a panel of superintendents, principals, and curriculum directors and an analysis of the building performances data were used to construct a criterion profile of performance for a building judged to be “excellent.” These “standards of excellence” criterion were developed considering the performance of all students as the base population.

Assessment comparisons to prior years are not valid

Although state assessments have been administered for a number of years, comparisons between this year’s results and prior years does not produce reliable conclusions and would not be valid. This year Kansas students were given new assessment tests, developed from new State Board of Education approved curricular standards.  This will make 2006 the beginning of a new baseline for assessment data and the start of different assessment trends.  All students in grades three through eight and once in high school were assessed in both reading and math this year.  In prior years, students were assessed in either reading or math once in elementary and middle school.  No history, science or writing assessments were given this year.

Overall, the gains in Standard of Excellence at Kansas schools far exceed the increase in the number of schools that did not make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), and the Kansas Department of Education believes a Standard of Excellence designation is a better measure of overall student achievement and the status of a school’s educational programs.  AYP measures only the progress individual schools, districts and states are make in meeting the No Child Left Behind targets for the 100 percent of a state’s student population by 2014.  The Standard of Excellence criteria encourages schools to meet the needs of all learners at each of the performance levels across the entire spectrum of learners.

State assessment results

Overall the results of the state assessments in reading and math indicate strong student achievement in both areas.  State-wide totals show students in all grades meeting the Board of Education established targets in reading and math.  While challenges still remain, Kansas educators are working diligently to meet the requirements of NCLB and the needs of all learners.

Subgroups

Although some subgroups score below the general population on state assessments, achievement scores saw modest improvement among many of the subgroups. Teaching English Language Learners reading and raising the math achievement levels for students in poverty represent the greatest challenge for Kansas schools.  Despite gains, any achievement gap that continues to exist is still a concern for educators and will need additional attention and resources in the year ahead.

Other measures

Additional measures are used to judge the adequacy of the educational programs at various levels in the state.  The measures include the percent of students who participate in the assessments, the graduation rate and the attendance rate.  For each of these measures, the state establishes targets for schools and districts.  Meeting these targets is as important for schools and districts as meeting the performance goals on the student assessments.  Schools that fail to meet these goals do not make AYP.  In 2006, the State of Kansas met the goals for all of these measures.

Highly Qualified Teachers

As the number of teachers entering the profession declines and the number of teachers eligible to retire in five years grows, educators remain concerned about the availability of highly qualified teachers. Researchers attribute much of the success of student learning to high quality teachers.  Achievement among Kansas student is clearly related to the high percentage of core classes taught by “highly qualified” teachers across the state. The percent of elementary classes taught by highly qualified teachers in 2005-2006 was 94.4 percent, and the percent of highly qualified teachers in secondary schools (middle, junior high and high schools) across the state is 89.5 percent.

2007 and 2008 Assessments

Additional assessments in other content areas will be introduced in the coming years.  In 2007 new writing assessments are scheduled to be administered, and the new science and history / government assessments are on tap for 2008.  Science is to be given annually to one grade each at the elementary, middle and high school levels.  History/government and writing assessments will continue, as they have in the past, to be offered every other year in alternating years to one grade at each educational level.  As are the reading and math assessments this year, the science, history/government and writing assessments will be newly developed tests based on newly adopted standards.

Each year, beginning about this time, we get several questions from teachers along these lines:

• Can we sing Christmas carols in our school program?
• Can I have a Christmas tree in my room? What about a nativity scene? What about a menorah?
• May I teach my students about Kwanzaa?

And so forth.

Contrary to what some believe, schools have not been made "religion-free zones" by either legislation or the courts.

While public schools may not teach religion, public school students may be taught about religion. The U.S. Supreme Court has recognized that many subjects, such as music, literature, history, art and social studies, cannot be taught without discussing the impact of religion. What is not permissible is proselytizing. For example, teaching about the conflict in the Middle East would be impossible without discussing the role of religion. However, you may not use that opportunity to promote one religion as being "right" or preferable. You may discuss the beliefs and teachings of each religion involved, but must give equal time to all and must present the beliefs in an objective fashion.

In the same way, public schools may teach about religious holidays and the religious aspects of those holidays. The secular aspects of a holiday may be celebrated, while religious aspects of the holiday may not. What does this mean in terms of the classroom?

You may teach a unit on religious holidays. In this unit, you may teach your students about Christmas and the reason for its celebration. You many also teach about Hanukkah and why it is celebrated. You may teach about Ramadan. You can teach the celebration of Kwanzaa. However, you must present this information in an objective way, without expressing preference for one over the other. Furthermore, you may display religious symbols while teaching this topic; however, once you have completed the unit, the symbols must come down. For instance, it is okay to have a menorah displayed while learning about Hanukkah, but you must remove it once you have left that topic.

In addition, it is permissible to holiday parties in your classroom, but you must include only the secular aspects of the celebration. For example, you may have a Christmas party in your classroom. However, the party should not focus on celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, but instead could focus on the ways Christmas is celebrated around the world. In this context, the display of a Christmas tree for the duration of the unit on religious holidays is acceptable, as would be an exchange of gifts, or Christmas crackers, as well as a discussion of Santa Claus and his various guises throughout different cultures. Similarly, you may have a Hanukkah celebration, with a menorah displayed and gifts exchanged. You may have a Kwanzaa meal. As long as you keep the celebration limited to the secular aspects of the holiday, there is no violation of "freedom of religion." In addition, any student who wishes to be excused from celebrating a particular holiday should be allowed to do so.

Religious songs may be included in the study of music. School programs may include religious music, as long as religious music does not dominate the program. Dramatic productions depicting the Hanukkah miracle or the nativity are not appropriate

Please remember that this article focuses on the broad legal aspects of religion in public schools. Your individual school districts may have policies that prohibit certain types of celebrations or may limit the scope of the curriculum. You must make yourself familiar with your district's policies and follow those policies. For instance, if your district prohibits Christmas parties in the classroom, you should not have one. If your district prohibits teaching comparative religions, don't teach that. If you have a concern about whether or not your district's policies violate the law, contact your building representative, local president or   UniServ director.

By Jacquie Shipma, MNEA manager of legal services and human resources.

Members of Kansas ACORN and the Kansas NEA announced joint efforts to support Change America Now (CAN). The CAN campaign focuses on passing through Congress the economic elements of the 100-Hour legislative agenda, which includes raising the federal minimum wage and cutting the interest rates on students loans in half.

Speaking at a news conference in Topeka were (l-r) ACORN member Sarah Lott-Edwards, KNEA President Blake West and ACORN member Deni Coker (pictured at right).

Change America Now is a national campaign effort being mounted by nearly 40 organizations in 31 states to encourage Congressional leaders to vote on key issues in the first 100 legislative hours of the 110th Congress in early January. Between Dec. 11-15, ACORN and various partners are conducting campaigns in five states: Delaware, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky and Pennsylvania.

"Here in Kansas, we're interested specifically in increasing the minimum wage because more money will get into working families' pockets," said Sarah Lott-Edwards, Kansas ACORN member. "Congress has raised their salaries over nine times and upped their pay over $30,000. Yet, they've done nothing for the minimum wage."

It's about helping low income families earn a livable wage, said ACORN member Deni Coker. "There's a misperception that low income folks don't want to work. Everyone needs to earn a wage that will support their families."

"The Kansas NEA supports key points of this important 'can-do' campaign," said KNEA President Blake West.  "Increasing the minimum wage, for example, will have a profound effect on raising children out of poverty. Cutting interest rates for college loans makes higher education more affordable," he added. "This focus benefits the economy and society as a whole."

Besides increasing the wage and education issues, other items on the CAN 100 Hour Agenda are repealing tax breaks for big oil and eliminating the prohibition on Medicare negotiating with drug companies for lower prices. ACORN and the Change America Now campaign seek to pass these priorities with large bipartisan majorities in the House of Representatives in effort to build momentum for President Bush sign them into law.

ACORN is the nation's largest community organization of low- and moderate-income families, with over 250,000 member families organized into 800 neighborhood chapters in 103 cities across the country.  Since 1970 ACORN has taken action and won victories on issues of concern to our members, including better housing for first time homebuyers and tenants, living wages for low-wage  workers, more investment in our communities from banks and governments, and better public schools.  

Kansas NEA teachers, along with the National Education Association, continually work to provide and promote quality public schools, to improve the well-being of members and to strengthen the teaching profession.

Coping with Stress in the Classroom

Regardless of the time of year, life in public schools us exciting as well as a stressful. Personal and professional obligations make us feel overwhelmed.

In the midst of all this, you may notice some physical and emotional reactions to the new demands. People who don’t deal positively with stressful situations become ill. This occurs because the body’s immune system is worn down in the fight against the stressors. Migraines, ulcers, backaches, constipation and heart attacks are only a few of the physical consequences of inappropriate coping techniques.

Experienced teachers have found some useful techniques and some “preventive medicine” to protect against debilitating stress symptoms.

State assessment results indicate that Kansas schools made significant gains in student achievement in 2006. More than 1,200 schools met Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) targets during the 2005-06 school year even though the targets have increased 62 percent since 2002.  Two hundred and fifty-nine districts met AYP in the 2005-06 school year. 

The achievement also is notable given that Kansas issued new tests written to new content standards and implemented a database tracking system to ensure all eligible students were accounted for in the assessment process. The 2005-06 school year also marked the first time that all states had to give annual reading and math tests in grades 3 through 8 and in at least one grade in high school.

"The message that is often lost in the AYP discussion is the good news about Kansas schools," said Dr. Tom Foster, deputy commissioner of the agency's Division of Learning Services. "The good news is that schools are getting better and students are achieving at a higher standard than ever before."
 
Eighty-five percent of Kansas schools met the 2006 performance targets. This performance is well above the national average of 71 percent for states that reported results as of early September 2006, according to Education Week. 

Despite the continued gains in student achievement, the number of Kansas schools meeting AYP targets under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act declined in the 2005-06 school year.  Preliminary findings indicate there were 85 more schools not meeting AYP targets in 2006.  In all, the preliminary findings indicate that 206 schools and 41 districts did not meet the targets.

The Kansas State Department of Education expected the rise in the number of schools missing the achievement targets for several reasons including:

• The number of students tested substantially increased.  
• Consequently, the number of subgroups increased. 
• The number of students that comprised a subgroup declined from 40 to 30.
• If any group in a school or district misses the AYP targets, the school or district  will not meet AYP.

"Meeting the demands of the federal NCLB legislation have put a tremendous strain on classroom teachers, school districts and this agency.  I am proud of the work that all our educators have done this year to help our students achieve," Foster said.

AYP is a method of determining the progress individual schools, districts and the state are making in meeting the NCLB goal of having 100 percent of the student population meeting the standard in reading and mathematics by 2014.  To meet AYP measures, annual targets for performance on reading and mathematics must be met, as well as other goals for participation, attendance and graduation. The target typically increases each year and must be met by all student populations of schools and districts.  A subgroup is any group of 30 or more students that can be identified by characteristics of ethnicity, income level, English proficiency or special needs. 

On a vote of 7-3, the Kansas State Board of Education accepted Commissioner Bob Corkins resignation "with regret" following an executive session. Corkins had submitted his resignation on Monday, Nov. 20, to Board President Steve Abrams.

KNEA President Blake West made the following statement regarding the resignation of Commission Corkins.

"KNEA members working in schools and colleges across Kansas have remained focused on helping every student succeed even during the recent difficult times at the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE)."
 
"As we look to the future, it is critical that the Kansas State Board of Education seek a commissioner who has real experience in education, strong leadership skills, and the personal commitment to work collaboratively with education associations and with local school districts.
 
"The new commissioner will face the challenge of rebuilding expertise that has been lost at KSDE in recent months.  We must also return our focus to enhancing the quality of our public schools.  KNEA continues its commitment to work with the commissioner and the State Board as we strive to provide a great 21st century education for every child."

When questioned about the qualifications of a new commissioner, West emphasized the need "for someone with a collaborative spirit who can work among individuals with diverse viewpoints."

Corkins, who previously worked for conservative think tanks and lobbied against spending on public education, became the first commissioner in more than half a century with no experience as a school superintendent or on a school staff.

Corkins will receive a 30-day severance package including salary and benefits. 

Dale Dennis, deputy education commissioner for finance, was named interim commissioner.

Do you carry the same stack of ungraded papers back and forth to school?
Are you scrambling for time and can't find time to stop…?

Many teachers experience anxiety at this time of year, especially early career teachers. They think, "If I can just make it through to the end of December, I can collapse."

Early career teachers have survived a lot:

• The first week of school
• A slew of discipline problems
• Paperwork
• Learning the intricacies of a new  district
• Testing
• Lesson plans that bombed
• Kids who are not learning as fast as you'd hoped (and planned for)
• Parent-teacher conferences
• More paperwork
• Grades

Now it's time to take care of you

Many KNEA members act as mentors or are involved in mentoring programs across the state.
Here is some of their advice for surviving the Holiday Hump.

Know that you are not alone.
Even experienced career teachers are in "survival mode" during this time of the year.

Take a Deep Breath.
You have set aside all external distractions. Good for you. Breathe in deeply one more time. You are almost ready for the day ahead.

Plan Ahead.
Have a plan, stick to the plan. Determine specific goals for when your students kids go home for the break. Where do you want them to be? What absolutely needs to be done? Talk to your mentor or colleague - are these goals realistic? What can "not" be done?  A realistic and purposeful conversation is essential.

Prioritize.
Planning ahead means prioritizing. Mentors can help early career teachers understand what events or activities, such as conferences, take priority over things like long-range projects. Experienced teachers and mentors are providing to new teachers pieces of lessons  and classroom activities and copying materials for classroom work to reduce planning for the short term. It helps early career teachers complete their priorities.
Continued on page 2

Balance Grading .
Many new teachers are bogged down with mounds of paper. They feel they have to touch and grade every piece of work their student does. Regardless if you teach at the elementary, high school or community college level, find a system. Understand certain pieces are for skill-building and need to be graded.  Others pieces are for student practice and experience. It's like a practice versus a musical performance. Don't treat all assignments like a performance. Pay attention to the practice, but grade the performance.

Advice for singletons:Be a self-advocate.
If you are the only second grade teacher in your building, ask the teachers in grade levels on either side (first and third) for advice on goals and grading. Talk to someone about grading and record keeping, preferably before it becomes a real nightmare. If you are the only algebra or math teacher in a junior or high school, go to a veteran in another discipline or a different grade level. Go to a math teacher or someone in a similar content area who understands the content and can give advice.  Your building rep or local officer can help. They can utilize their network of colleagues in other school districts to get you help.

End units on a Thursday.
Let Friday be a-breath-of-fresh-air day. Allow learning to settle in. Remember, each unit is one more building block for your class.

Use the Sense of "Smell"
Our sense of smell is very powerful.  When we encounter any scent, it goes directly to the brain for fast transmission of information.  Research has shown us that certain smells can affect our moods.  Using natural scents such as vanilla, apple, and cinnamon will appeal to almost everyone, even students. To assist in keeping yourself relaxed, along with your students, you may add these smells into your classroom by using plug-ins or potpourri.  But remember, if you do this, place these items in places that are low traffic areas. Also, be aware of student allergies and that any odor, regardless of how pleasant, can be offensive.

Stretch Tight Muscles
Another way to produce the relaxation response in the classroom is by stretching tight muscles.  As we all know, stress causes muscles to become tightened, thus causing you to become more lethargic.  Establishing a daily routine that includes taking three big breaths and stretching is an excellent mood setter for the classroom day.  It is also a very good life skill to teach your students.

Save some weekend time for yourself
Make time to play on Friday and Saturday and then schedule time on Sunday to be focused back on school. Take the downtime to reconnect with your personal life and family. 

Mentors and colleagues
Listen, support, volunteer your lessons, and intervene.  Take time to ask the early career teachers how things are going.  This is the time of year early career teachers need the most support.

For all school staff: Keep a File of Positives
Identify and celebrate your successes. They are often overlooked in this hectic part of the school year. When a positive note comes in, acknowledge and celebrate it.  Remind yourself things are working even though you are struggling. Keep a file of those positive notes and pull them out when you need to feel better.

Have more advice?
Email your advice to kneanews@knea.org.  We'll post your advice here on the KNEA Web site.

'Tis the season for gift-giving and the KNEA Membership Access card can help get great deals on gifts for family and friends.

There are coupons and discounts of up to 50 percent on computers, glassware and home furnishings. Thinking of a trip to go skiing, golfing or visiting family over the Holidays? Check out the KNEA Membership Access site first. Simply go to back to the home page and find the picture of the KNEA Membership Access Card. Click on the icon. It looks just like the KNEA membership card.

If members haven't already done so, they need to register by submitting the number located on their membership card in the space provided. Yes -members must register again just like did last year.

Keep in mind, this is an exclusive membership benefit of KNEA.  Even though it looks like a credit card, it operates just the opposite. It saves KNEA members money. 

"The more you use the card on everyday items, the more you save," said Claudette Johns, program coordinator. "Save your dues and more by using the KNEA Membership Access card."

If you have any problems, call the toll-free number on the back of your KNEA Access Membership Card. The KNEA Access Service Center is open Monday - Thursday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Cyberbullying - Moving from the schoolyard to the Internet

"Respect, responsibility, caring, integrity, tact and self-discipline do not end the moment you enter the Internet."

Kids have found a new way to bully each other. Bullying has moved from the schoolyard to the Internet and teachers are among the targets.

"Technology is a popular vehicle to spread rumors, attack character and integrity, like nothing before," said Marjie Blaufuss, KNEA staff attorney.

KNEA is addressing this issue because it will interfere in the classroom, even if the behavior is done at home, she added. The KNEA Human and Civil Rights Commission (HCR) is compiling resources to develop a training to help KNEA members deal with cyberbullying. KNEA members can read more in the October, 2006, edition of the KNEA Issues .

Students of all ages are using cell phones and Web sites to bully their peers. In a growing number of cases, teachers are becoming the targets. Additionally, the common descriptor of a bully is changing.

"Bullying, virtual or in real life, covers all ages, all races and all genders," said Sherri Carter-Marks, a member of HCR and United Teachers of Wichita member. Most of the bullies send to be female, however. The difference between bullying in elementary and secondary schools, she added, is that grade school kids bully about turf issues.  For teens, it's the boy/girl relationships and "teasing" using offensive terms with sexual overtones.

Technology is about making connections, she added. "Respect, responsibility, caring, integrity, tact and self-discipline do not end the moment you enter the Internet."

Roles

KNEA resources explain the roles of the bully, the target and the bystander, and offers advice for teachers and parents. According to various resources, there are many roles in a cyberbullying situation:

• Put-downers - Those who think they have the right to harass and demean others, especially those they think are different or inferior.
• Get-backers - Those who have been bullied by others (targets) and are using the Internet to retaliate.
• Targets - The target of the cyberbully. KNEA uses the term "target" rather than "victim."
• Bystanders Who Are Part of the Problem - Those who encourage and support the bully or watch the bullying from the sidelines, but do nothing to intervene or help the target.
• Bystanders Who Are Part of the Solution - Those who seek to stop the bullying, protest it, provide support to the target or tell an adult.

Cyberbullies can be anonymous and may not even know the target.

Online Behavior

Parents and teachers are amazed and dismayed at the language and behavior of model students. Why is it that when people use the Internet or cell phones, they sometimes do and say things that they would never do in the "real" world?

"You can't see me, I can't see you so I'm protected," said Rhonda White, high school counselor and Pittsburg EA member. "Kids don't realize the consequence of statements, of pictures or threats sent electronically. Since it isn't face-to-face and e-mail accounts can be anonymous, kids feel they are invisible, that they have a wall of protection."

The feeling of invisibility removes concerns of detection, social disapproval and punishment. "Kids think they're not really doing anything bad," Carter-Marks added. "The problem is there are no consequences unless the target understands they have a right not to be bullied or harassed. Bullying should not and will not be tolerated in public school - on the playground or online."

Honesty Not Always the Best Blog Policy

Living in the Information Age can be hazardous to your career.
Increasingly, teachers are becoming targets.

"Bet that your students will 'Google' you," Blaufuss said. "Experience tells us that if there are photos of you drinking, they'll find them, adapt them and send them on to others, including your supervisor." There are a few cases where students created false blogs for teachers, adapting photos and posting them.

Blogs are one of the newest ways for personal information to be shared. Personal blogs can serve as outlets for relieving stress and pent-up emotions. But remember, blogs are public. "Teachers and administrators may not be as understanding about your need to express your feelings as they are about their own reputation," Blaufuss said.

"Check out your blog and make sure there's nothing offensive or inappropriate," she advises teachers. "Ask a colleague to look at it. Simply because you don't name administrators, specifically name the 'jerk' or even your district, doesn't mean they won't recognize themselves when someone refers to your blog."

College students hoping to be hired by a school district should clean up their blogs. Prospective employers can gain access to these blogs (especially if a work site computer is used) and may form hard-to-erase impressions of their current staff or of those applying for positions.

KNEA resources, advice

Regardless if you're a teacher or a parent, "get in their face electronically," Carter-Marks advised. "If a student makes a racial or gender slur and says, 'I was just joking,' it is not really joking. I tell kids, if you do something stupid on the Internet, it will come back to haunt you."

"Like students, teachers have a right not to be bullied," Blaufuss said. "Teachers have a right to report."

Among KNEA resources is advice to address the proper use of technological devices, to know your district's policies on sexual harassment and Internet usage and to know your rights.

The Association needs to be involved in conversations regarding proper Internet use policies.

The United States Department of Education has notified the State of Kansas that four assessment situations allowed in Kansas in the past will no longer be permitted. The situations help children with special needs or who have Individual Education Plans (IEP) to take the required assessments under No Child Left Behind. The changes will be in effect for the 2006-2007 school year. 

These changes will impact special education students in particular and likely result in more schools  being tagged as failing either for low participation of special education students or lowered test results for special education students.

The changes are listed below. 

1. Being out-of-town, out-of-state, or out-of-country is the same as being chronically absent.  It counts against the school for participation. Previously Kansas did not count children who were not in attendance under such conditions as enrolled for that period of time. If a child was gone for an extended period of time, then it would have been possible for the child to be exempt from counting on the assessments under the rules that governed "continuous enrollment."

2. Neither teacher-generated nor student-generated journals are allowed for ANY student, not even for a student with an IEP (Individual Education Plan).  If any student uses these journals, the assessment is rendered invalid, and the student counts as not tested.

3. Using a calculator on a non-calculator portion of the assessment is not allowed for ANY student, not even for a student with an IEP.  If any student uses a calculator on a non-calculator portion of the assessment, the assessment is rendered invalid, and the student counts as not tested. Kansas has used the calculator accommodation for students with IEPs and 504 plans for ten years.  

4. Reading the reading passage to a student is not allowed for ANY student, not even for a student with an IEP.  If someone reads the reading passage to any student or allows the student to use a CD or audio tape for the reading passage, the assessment is rendered invalid, and the student counts as not tested.

Leaders from across the nine-state western region will coming to the Overland Park Convention Center for the annual Leadership Conference on January 12-14, 2007. 

The conference theme for 2007 is “Great Public Schools – A Basic Right for Every Child:  Making it Happen”.  Sessions will focus on strengthening locals, closing achievement gaps, and personal leadership skill development. 

If you are interested in attending, see additional information online and register at http://www.nea.org/members/wrlc.html.  Registration is $110 through December 8th.  Beginning December 9th, the fee increases to $150.

KNEA recommends pro-public school candidates

The chart below contains the KNEA-recommended candidates for state-wide office, the State Board of Education and the Kansas House of Representatives in the general election for Novemer 7, 2006 listed.

“From the statehouse to the local school board building, politicians are making decisions that affect quality public schools, the teaching profession and the well-being of our members. We hope KNEA members and the public will give careful consideration to these teacher-recommended candidates,” said KNEA President Blake West. "Regardless who you vote for, please vote on November 7," he added.

KNEA members volunteer to be on a political action committee (PAC). KNEA PAC members represent the 40 state senatorial districts in Kansas. All candidates were invited to be interviewed about school funding, teacher rights and retirements issues. KNEA does not ask candidates to discuss anything but education issues.

If you don’t know the number of your House district, click here to access our “contact your legislator” web feature.  Type your address in the box, hit “GO” and your elected officials will be displayed. The number beside your State House member represents political party and House district. For example, Rep. Tom Sloan would be R-45 (Republican, District 45).

National Education Association's Annual Celebration Spotlights Importance of Great Public Schools for All Children

American Education Week is an opportunity to celebrate public education, honor people who are making a difference and remind the nation that great public schools are a basic right and everybody's responsibility. This year's celebration is taking place November 12-18, and will deliver an important message:  "Great Public Schools: A Basic Right and Our Responsibility."

NEA created American Education Week 85 years ago to recognize the different people who are critical in building great public schools for the nation's 50 million K-12 students.  The National Education Association is encouraging everyone to take part in activities by participating in a local event, getting involved in a school activity, or organizing an event of their own.  School staff, parents and community members can download NEA's Online Toolkit for activity ideas, templates, resources and promotional materials.

American Education Week's celebration days include:

• Sunday, November 12:  Student Leaders Day .  Hundreds of future teachers will convene in Denver, Colorado, to participate in a kick-off event with NEA President Reg Weaver.
• Monday, November 13:  National Kick-Off Celebration.  From national to local events, Americans will celebrate public education across the country.
• Tuesday, November 14:  Invite Parents to School Day .  Schools will invite parents into classrooms for a firsthand look at what the school day is like for their children.
• Wednesday, November 15:  Education Support Professionals Day .  From the bus driver to the custodian, the people who provide invaluable services to schools are recognized for their dedication.
• Thursday, November 16:  Educator for a Day .  Community leaders will be invited into schools to experience the rewards and challenges of educators and the needs of students.
• Friday, November 17:  Substitute Educators Day .  This day honors the educators who step in at a moment's notice to continue education in the classroom when regularly employed teachers are out.

For more information about American Education Week, visit www.nea.org/aew.

Halloween Safety Reminders

Know where your children will be on Halloween

The best time to trick-or-treat is early evening. Preschool through third grade youngsters should be accompanied by an adult or responsible teenager. Older children should go with friends. Parents can help plan a route map for trick-or-treating around the neighborhood. And remind them only to visit homes or apartments where the lights are on.

Set time limits with your children

How about tucking an alarm clock in the bag of older trick or treaters to signal when it's time to come home?

Review pedestrian rules

Cross streets at corners; watch for traffic in all directions; stick to sidewalks if possible; don't walk between cars or cut through vacant lots. Give kids a flashlight with fresh batteries.

Emphasize that all goodies need to be brought home for inspection before eating

Any doubt about something in the bag? Throw it out! Allow your child to eat only those treats that come in original, unopened wrappers. To avoid squabbles, combine all the food into one bag or bowl!

Costumes should be white or light

Decorate with reflective tape so motorists can easily see small ghosts and goblins.

Make-up or grease paint is better than a mask

Most make-up kits are non-toxic. Use liberal amounts of cold cream to remove.
If your child does wear a mask, enlarge the eyeholes until he/she can see clearly.

Try on costumes before Halloween

Ask your child to walk around the house a bit. That way you can fix anything that might cause a fall or is constrictive.  If the weather turns very cold, will it fit over a sweater or sweatshirt?

Strange costumes may frighten house pets

Instruct children to stay clear of cats and dogs while in costume. A strange costume can make even the tamest dog aggressive.

Congress Prepares To Raise Teacher Taxes; Elected Officials Need To Hear From Us NOW

Teachers and paraprofessionals will be socked with a $250 tax increase if Congress continues to fail to renew a tax deduction for educators' out-of-pocket classroom supply expenses. That's why we must send every member of Congress a clear message: Congress should do the right thing and renew the tax deduction for teachers and paraprofessionals who reach into their own pockets so that their students and classrooms have adequate books, pencils, paper and art supplies.

Contact your Senators and Representative before they return to Congress on November 13.  Tell them that it's unfair to penalize educators because Congress has failed to act. Teachers and paraprofessionals should not be held hostage for the sake of partisan gamesmanship.

If we raise our collective voice, we can save the tax deduction.  Our elected officials must know that we will not stand by quietly as they raise our tax bill. Educators already make enough financial sacrifices.

CONTACT YOUR SENATORS, REPRESENTATIVE TODAY

Act TODAY and urge your Senators and Representative  to renew the $250 federal tax deduction for educators' out-of-pocket classroom expenses when they return during the lame duck session. By standing together, we can make a difference.

Great Homework Divide Survey Reveals Parents and ‘Tweens’ Increasingly Look to Technology as a Homework Resource

Nearly nine in ten (86 percent) middle school students say that they still turn to their parents for homework help. These and other results of “The Great Homework Divide Survey” illustrate the reliance of tweens—widely recognized as children ages 9 through 12—on regular parent involvement. This finding is contrary to the conventional wisdom that tweens are eager to exercise their budding independence.

The research was commissioned by LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc., in conjunction with the National Education Association. (See more KNEA resources for parents )

Parents’ and students’ responses indicate that they are both struggling to adjust to the demands of the middle school workload, which is both heavier and more varied than typical grade school assignments:

• Two-thirds of parents (66 percent) say that their middle school student seeks the parent’s help with homework.
• More than one-half of middle school students (57 percent) and their parents (59 percent) report that parents spend at least one hour a night helping them with homework.
• Parents also report helping their middle school students with homework almost two and one-half nights a week on average.

“Middle school is an ideal time for parents to recommit to their children’s academic success by fostering positive attitudes about homework,” said NEA President Reg Weaver. “Children can learn to approach the heavier homework load responsibly. And parents can act as motivators to encourage their children’s critical thinking skills and help develop fundamental study habits that will serve them for life.”

Students perform better in school when their parents are actively involved in their education. Parents can play a role in their children’s success by providing a support system for meeting homework requirements.

In fact, the survey found that on average, parents reported spending close to three hours a week helping their middle school-aged children with homework. And nearly one-half of parents agree they would assist their middle school children even more with homework if they knew how.

Interestingly, the degree to which parents are reportedly involved in their children’s homework struggles does not necessarily spell success, as almost half of middle school students (48 percent) say they have gone to school without finishing their homework because it was too difficult or because they could not find anyone to help them. It may be that middle school students need a new kind of help that parents cannot provide.

Technology Can Serve as Homework Helper

For parents who may feel challenged as to how best to support their middle school students’ developing study habits, technology may be a solution for homework-challenged children. A majority of parents agree that technology can serve many important homework-help functions, especially when the ease of the Internet is combined with teachers’ expertise:

• Seven in ten parents (73 percent) say they have used the Internet to assist their middle school-aged child with after-school work; five in ten say they have used either word processing software (52 percent) or teaching games or gadgets (50 percent) for this purpose.
• Six in ten parents (61 percent) say they have purchased a computer for the express purpose of helping their middle school-aged children study.
• Eight in ten parents (82 percent) and six in ten middle school students (66 percent) say tweens have used the Internet for homework help. 

“Technology has already begun to change today’s classroom, and parents are uniquely positioned to bring that transformation full circle by providing children access to complementary resources at home,” said Jessie Woolley-Wilson, Executive Vice President of LeapFrog and President of LeapFrog SchoolHouse. “As their children’s curriculum advances, parents are struggling to find the most effective ways to enhance the homework experience. Personal learning tools, such as LeapFrog’s FLY Pentop Computer, can help empower students to tackle their homework effectively and independently.”

LeapFrog and the NEA’s Parent Guide to Better Homework Help Sets the Stage for Learning Success

Today’s middle school students are receiving more homework, which means they need more than ever to develop and hone their organization and time management skills. The best way to support homework efforts is to help children design a framework within which they can do their best work with an increasing degree of independence:

• Be prepared. Assume your children will have studying to do every night and work with them to create a comfortable, distraction-free homework zone.
• Understand teachers’ policies and expectations. Encourage your children to ask their teachers questions, reminding them that an in-person visit before or after school is often most effective.
• Be available and teach by example. Check in with your children while they work, offering to be a sounding board or source of advice. Help them cope with feelings of failure or frustration.
• Identify other resources. Encourage your children to find homework buddies, and do not hesitate to line up extra support if needed. Get to know the guidance counselors and other school employees. Education support professionals generally know all of the students in the school, and their relationship with your children will continue as they move from one grade to the next. Consider taking advantage of the many technology-based tools and educational software titles now available.
• Stay in touch with your children’s teachers. If teachers have access to e-mail, it can be an effective way to maintain regular contact in addition to telephone calls and in-person visits. Let teachers know of any home issues that may affect academic performance or needs.
• Inspire learning outside school. Nurture your children’s personal interests, perhaps finding activities that parallel what they’re studying in school, thus fostering their enthusiasm for learning as a life-long endeavor.

More tips for bridging the Great Homework Divide can be found online at www.nea.org/parents and www.flyworld.com.

Wamego kindergarten teacher Roxie Peterson is Kansas' nominee for the NEA Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence. The award recognizes teachers from across the nation for their instructional expertise, creativity and innovation in the classroom, as well as for their leadership skills.

Central Elementary School, where Peterson teaches, will receive a $1,000 gift from the NEA Foundation as a result of her nomination. Of the nominees from the 50 states, five will be selected as finalists and will receive a personal gift of $10,000 from the NEA Foundation and The Horace Mann Companies.  The winner will receive an additional $25,000, courtesy of NEA. All the nominees will be honored at an NEA Foundation sponsored gala on February 8, 2007, in Washington, D.C.

Former KNEA President Christy Levings, who nominated Peterson, sees her as an exceptional teacher. "Roxie has been a leader in her school district by not only demonstrating the need for educators to be lifelong learners, but also in researching and implementing new strategies and techniques of learning."

Central Elementary School Principal Jeanne Stroh recommended the 32-year teaching veteran for the nomination. "Roxie is highly motivated, intelligent and her professional knowledge is sound.  Time after time, she has shown her potential, ability, character and leadership throughout the professional community," said Stroh. "Roxie is dedicated to helping all her students be the best they can be both socially and academically."

Peterson has shown a strong commitment to her local, state and national associations throughout her professional career. She is a 2006 Kansas Teacher of the Year regional finalist.   

"It's always exciting to recognize the work of dedicated and successful educators," said NEA President Reg Weaver. "The NEA Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence allows all of us to honor truly outstanding teachers and to remember that they are representative of the vast number of school employees who go to school each morning totally dedicated to creating great public schools for every child."

The Foundation is the grant-giving arm of the National Education Association and is funded by an annual $1 contribution from NEA's 3.2 million members as well as by contributions from corporate partners.

The KNEA Fall Bargaining Conference will be Saturday, October 21 at the KNEA Headquarters in Topeka.

There is no charge for KNEA members, but registration is required .  Leaders are encouraged to bring the entire negotiating team.

“Better terms and conditions of teacher employment require effective teacher negotiating teams,” said KNEA Negotiations Director Wade Anderson. “This bargaining conference experience will create more effective teacher negotiating teams.”

There will be a general session on using the Teacher Working Conditions survey data at the bargaining table. Participants may select three topics from the following:

• Bargaining Instructional Issues –  Improve your ability to negotiate Quality Public School Standards, Professional Development and NCLB issues
• Negotiating Health Insurance Issues – Develop a better understanding of the complexities of negotiating quality health insurance benefits
• Understanding and Designing Quality Compensation Schemes – Compensation theory for teacher negotiators
• Spreadsheets for Negotiating Quality Salary Schedules – Excel spreadsheet tools that help negotiators develop and maintain improved teacher salary schedules
• First Time Interest Based Bargaining – For those who may be interested in IBB but in need of more information about the process               
• IBB Intricacies – An advanced IBB discussion for the experienced interest based bargainer
• Legal Questions and Answers – Discuss legal issues with the KNEA General Counsel
• Emotions and Bargaining – Learn techniques which foster positive emotions and result in more productive bargaining      
• Salaries of Community College Employees – Recently collected salary data for administrators and faculty of Kansas Community Colleges
• Effective Planning for Successful Bargaining – Guidance and tools for more effective and efficient planning
• USD Finance – The essentials of USD finance and budgeting for teacher negotiators
• Communications and Bargaining   – Tools, advice and timelines for communicating with internal and external audiences    
   
  Reminder: The pre-registration deadline for enrolling in the October 21, 2006 KNEA Fall Bargaining Conference is Monday, October 16, 2006.  Pre-registration form.

The NEA Minority Community Outreach site highlights major NEA programs and projects supporting public education and involving minority communities around critical issues affecting the communities such as school funding, achievement gaps and vouchers. 

The site also provides practical information on teacher diversity, classroom issues and parental involvement, and contains individual sections of special interest to Black, Hispanic, Asian and Pacific Islander and American Indian and Alaska Native communities.

This new site, www.nea.org/mco , builds on the work of many NEA departments and is intended to be a public service for those inside and outside of the education community.

The 2006 Kansas Legislature changed the requirement for mandatory reporters.

Instead of reporting a reasonable suspicion of "injury" as a result of abuse, now school staff are required to report if there is a reason to suspect "harm" as a result of abuse. While the standard is still subjective, it is also more inclusive since it does not require actual injury, according to KNEA Staff Attorney, Marjie Blaufuss.

Educators are required by law to report if they have any reason to suspect that a child has been harmed as a result of physical, mental or emotional abuse or neglect or sexual abuse. The law pertains specifically to children 18 years of age and younger. School employees are protected from any lawsuit if they make the report in good faith. 

By reporting their concerns, teachers need to know that they have made a difference in the lives of thousands of children, she said. There are about 50,000 reports of abuse in a year. About one-half are assigned for further investigation. That doesn't mean they all move through the system. It means the case warrants some form of further investigation.

"Reporting to your administrator, nurse or counseling office does not meet the requirements of the law ," Blaufuss said. Reports must be made to the department of social and rehabilitation services or a law enforcement agency.

Reports can be anonymous. When making a report, regardless if it is anonymous, be sure to note date, time and with whom you speak, she said, adding that it is important to give as much information as possible. "The more information, the better decisions to make in helping protect that child."

If a school employee suspects a child has been harmed as a result of abuse, but is not sure, it is not the employee's job to investigate the matter.
"That is the job of SRS or law enforcement," Blaufuss said. "A new teacher may be unsure whether abuse has occurred. There is no problem checking with a more experienced staff member or a School Improvement Team, as long as the consultation does not significantly delay the report."

One member of a team may be designated to make a report for a team, she added. SRS does not want nor need 10 people all calling for the same reason. The reporter should make clear that the report is being made on behalf of a team.

School staff cannot be considered insubordinate for contacting SRS instead of an administrator.
"District policies that state that only designated members - such as an administrator, nurse or counselor - may make a report to SRS do not comply with the statute," Blaufuss said. Staff members would still be subject to criminal charges for failure to report.

Some districts have policies that require a teacher to tell the administrator of any reports to the SRS. Although SRS believes this could be considered hindering reporting, there is a good argument that administrators should be notified before officers/SRS comes to conduct an investigation in the school. 

Furthermore, it is not unlikely that the parents will figure out that someone at the school made the report.  It is always best if the principal is prepared for the possibility of a hostile visit from the parents.

"If an administrator forbids a school employee to make a report, the school employee can always make an anonymous report. This is not an ideal situation, however, since SRS cannot follow up with the reporter, if necessary."

Blaufuss emphasized, "An anonymous report should not be necessary since it is a crime to prevent the report of abuse or to sanction a school employee who has made a report."

Resources

• KNEA UniServ Director
• A Guide to Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect in Kansas, authored by the Kansas Children's League, is available through the local UniServ Office.

The Kansas NEA and the Southeast Kansas Education Service Center (Greenbush) support the need for quality professional development and offer two levels of training for PDC members in Kansas. We have trained more than 1625 PDC members, primarily as teams, through workshops over the past four years.

The Professional Development Regulations in effect July 1, 2003 require that all Professional Development Council (PDC) members operate from a knowledge base of the regulations. Level I Training is designed for the new PDC member to gain a knowledge and understanding of quality professional learning based on the Staff Development standards.

Level 1 training dates and sites are:

• Sept. 28 -- ESC, Greenbush
• Nov. 14 -- KNEA, Topeka

Both trainings are from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

The advanced training focuses on moving your PDC to a deeper level of understanding of how quality staff development and professional learning impact student learning and the PDC’s place in that work.

Advanced Training Dates and Sites are:

• Sept. 26 -- KNEA, Topeka
• Sept. 27 -- ESC, Greenbush
• Oct.4 -- Wolf River, Robinson
• Oct.5 -- KNEA, Topeka
• Oct. 11 -- ESC, Greenbush
• Oct.12 -- Wolf River, Robinson
• Oct. 25 -- Maize Training Facility, USD 266, Maize
• Nov. 15 -- KNEA, Topeka
• Nov. 16 -- ESC, Greenbush
• Jan. 23 -- ESC, Greenbush
• Jan. 25 -- KNEA, Topeka

All trainings are from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Registration!
Visit www.greenbush.org and select “workshops”, “sign in”, enter your “username” and “password” OR choose “new user”. For details, contact Ginger Mein by phone, 620-7246284, or e-mail ginger.mein@greenbush.org

Click here for more on KNEA's resources for PDCs.

Free online tutoring for Kansas students launched by the State Library of Kansas and Kansas public libraries.

As the new school year kicks into high gear, the State Library of Kansas and Kansas public libraries launched HomeworkKansas, an interactive online tutoring service for Kansas children grades four through 12, and new college students.  The service can be accessed at www.homeworkkansas.org and is free to Kansas residents throughout the state.

Governor Kathleen Sebelius joined Kansas librarians in promoting the new online tutoring service.  "HomeworkKansas helps level the playing field for students. It's a resource available in rural and urban areas, in libraries and at home, and can be accessed regardless of income.  Young Kansans will have the assistance they need to excel in the classroom," she said. "Tools such as HomeworkKansas may open the door to higher education, better jobs and economic opportunity for our students."

Tutoring in math, science, English and social studies will be available seven days a week, from 4:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. and in Spanish for math and science Sunday through Thursday, from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

The service is high tech and sophisticated, but easy to use-- students indicate their grade level and the subject they need help in. Homework Kansas connects them to the best available tutor in just a few minutes.  Tutors don't provide answers, they provide help. The actual tutoring takes place in an online classroom, via chat and instant messaging; problems may be illustrated on an electronic whiteboard.  A variety of drawing and other web-based tools are available to enhance the tutoring session.

Kansas is only the third state to offer the tutoring service statewide. There are 400,000 students in Kansas public schools, grades four through 12. 

HomeworkKansas offers a safe and secure environment for students to seek help.  All tutors complete a third-party background and reference check. In addition, tutors complete a rigorous application and training program, and participate in ongoing in depth evaluation and mentoring.  Tutors are experts in their fields; they are certified teachers, college professors, professional tutors, graduate and undergraduate students from accredited colleges and universities, and other professionals.

The Kansas State Library provides information services to state and local governments, and to libraries and their users. The library is located in the State Capitol Building in Topeka.

 For more information, contact: Marc Galbraith, Deputy State Librarian, 785/296.3296,

Nearly six in 10 Americans who are familiar with the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act believe it has had no effect on our schools or has actually harmed them, according to a nationwide poll.

“This finding is significant and disturbing given that the nation’s schools are spending virtually all of their available money and resources on an effort to meet the demands of this law,” said Lowell Rose, co-author along with Alec Gallup of the 38th Annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools.

In probing the public’s opinions of NCLB, the PDK/Gallup poll finds that there is widespread support for the law’s goals -- closing the achievement gap between African American and Latino students and their white peers and improving educational outcomes for all students -- but broad disagreement with its specific strategies.

When asked whether testing students in only English and math, as currently required by NCLB, can give a fair picture of a school, 81% of the public say no. And 78% are worried that the law’s focus on these two subjects will mean less emphasis on other subjects.

The poll finds that two-thirds of those surveyed oppose measuring school success by the percentage of students passing a single statewide test, while 81% prefer measuring the improvement that students make during the year.

In contrast to the public’s pessimistic view of NCLB, the poll finds strong support for the public schools. When asked where we should focus efforts to improve education, 71% of those surveyed say that they prefer improvement to come through the existing public school system, rather than through an alternative system.

The public is consistent in this view -- 60% oppose the use of public funds for children to attend private schools, 80% prefer that students who attend schools that fail to meet NCLB performance requirements receive help in their own schools rather than offers to transfer to another school, and 69% oppose contracting out to private companies the operation of local school systems.

In addition to this vote of confidence for the existing school system, the poll finds that there is strong public support for local schools -- 49% of those surveyed give the schools in their community A’s or B’s -- and that level of support increases to 56% when respondents are public school parents.

“The fact that the public’s support of its local schools is unaffected by the criticism directed at public schools in general should send a clear message to those interested in improving our schools that change proposals should be built on the assumption that the people like the schools they have,” noted Dr. Rose. “Proposals based on the assumption that the schools are failing are unlikely to gain the public support needed to make them effective.”

The PDK/Gallup poll also sought out the public’s views on the challenges the nation’s schools face as well as on potential solutions. When asked about those challenges, such as the achievement gap and high dropout rates among poor and minority students, 77% of Americans blame societal factors and only 16% fault the performance of the schools.

Perhaps in recognition of the societal origin of these problems, 81% of those surveyed believe that preschool programs for at-risk children have the potential to improve their long-term school performance. More important, two of three Americans indicate their willingness to pay higher taxes to fund these programs.

“The views expressed in this year’s PDK/Gallup poll should serve as a wake-up call to our nation’s policy makers as they begin the process of reauthorizing NCLB in 2007,” cautions William Bushaw, executive director of PDK International, an association of education professionals that has been advocating for high- quality education for all since 1906.

“The public rejects the punitive approach found in NCLB, favors a broad curriculum, prefers more appropriate measures of school performance than a single high-stakes test, and supports efforts targeted at helping our most vulnerable students.”

As of September 1, 2006, the passing score for the Kansas Performance Assessment (KPA) is 88/113. 

That means each person who submitted a KPA during the no-fault period MUST apply for the Professional License prior to September 1, 2006 or they will have to meet the passing score, even if they submitted during the no-fault period.

The KPA is the primary requirement for upgrading a Conditional License to the Professional License, which is renewable and valid for 5 years.

The Kansas State Department of Education staff indicated that all those who submitted KPAs during the no-fault period have received, or will receive by early August, letters notifying them of their eligibility for the Professional License.  They will also receive a letter informing them of the September 1, 2006 effective date of the passing score and emphasizing the consequences of submitting the Professional License application on or after that date.

Even though most Conditional License holders have time remaining on their Conditional Licenses (they are valid for two years), they should apply for the Professional License prior to September 1, 2006.  The Professional License costs $36.00.

At its last meeting, the State Board set the passing score as recommended by the Professional Standards Board.

Fourth-graders in traditional public schools are doing better in both reading and math than students in charter schools, according to a government  report.

The report said fourth-graders in regular public schools scored an average of 5.2 points better in reading than students in charter schools on the 2003 National Assessment of Educational Progress test. Students in traditional schools scored an average of 5.8 points better in math.

Even when students’ race, income and learning disabilities were taken into account, students in traditional public schools fared better than those in charter schools.

Charter school opponents said the findings show that the schools are a failing experiment that drains resources from traditional public schools.

Mark Schneider, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, which did the report for the Department of Education said, "This was a pilot study and not meant to be definitive.” He said the report provides solid data for researchers to do more studies.

Charter schools are public schools that are sometimes run by private entities and are usually free of many of the regulations that govern traditional public schools.

When it's time for Kansas students to return to school for a new year of learning and fun, here is some helpful information for parents on making back to school a safe, happy and productive time for the entire family.

• Health and good taste can go together when packing a school lunch.
• Nurture the "learning instinct" in children.
• Precautions help ensure children's health and safety.
• Cultivate cultural arts at home.
• Bus safety tips offered to protect student riders.
• School should be top priority for working students.
• Five inexpensive ways to make your child feel special.
• Parent-child activities offer fun ways to learn math.
• Good study habits can help in the world of work.

More advice for parents from KNEA members

In a 4-2 decision, the state Supreme Court dismissed the school finance lawsuit that has been the No. 1 political issue before the Legislature for the last two years.  At issue was the fate of the school finance bill passed by lawmakers in the 2006 session. The decision was released just in time for the primary elections.

"This decision makes the outcome of the 2006 primary and general elections more important than ever," said KNEA President Blake West. “We simply must do our best to send to Topeka legislators who put quality public schools for every Kansas child ahead of parochial interests.”

A high court decision last year resulted in a special legislative session. This year's decision effectively ended the lawsuit filed in 1999 by Dodge City and other school districts and made Senate Bill 549 the solution to the challenge of establishing a suitable level of funding for public schools. With this decision, the Kansas Legislature is out from under the gun in providing additional funding for our schools – at least temporarily.

The Court ruled that the school finance bills passed in 2005 and 2006 “substantially complied with the court's prior orders to correct flaws in the school finance act that was in place when two school districts filed suit challenging the act's adequacy and equity.” The Court did put pressure on the Legislature to fund the out-years in SB 549 because their conclusion is based on the full amount of funding through the 2008-09 school year.

What the Court did not do is rule on the constitutionality of SB 549. In the ruling the Court said, "The sole issue now before the court is whether the legislation passed in 2005 and SB 549 (passed in 2006) comply with the previous orders of this court. If they do then our inquiry ends and this case must be dismissed. A constitutional challenge of SB 549 must wait for another day."

The wording of the decision sets Kansas up for yet another lengthy lawsuit while Legislators battle for their turf – rural versus urban, property wealthy versus property poor, high at-risk populations versus low at-risk populations, etc.

Probably the most controversial part of the decision is the lifting of the stay on the “cost of living weighting.” This weighting, which was passed in 2005 and stayed by the Court, allows for the 17 school districts with the greatest property wealth to raise substantial amounts of local funds. Taken to its extreme, it would be expected to dramatically increase disparities between those districts and others. This provision could likely be the driver in a new challenge to the constitutionality of the new finance formula.

The school finance lawsuit has been the hot political issue before the Legislature the last two years. At stake: the $3.1 billion funding method that supports the 450,000-student public school system.

In 2005, the state high court declared the system unconstitutional because it shortchanged all students, especially those in districts with high proportions of low-income students, based on the lawsuit filed in 1999.

The court accepted the $290 million spending increase that resulted from last summer’s contentious special session, considering it a down payment pending outcome of a study showing the actual costs of an adequate education. That study done by the Legislative Division of Post Audit recommended a $400 million increase for the next school year.

In May, the Legislature approved a $466 million increase but stretched that over three years, with the first-year increase totaling $194.5 million. That measure, called Senate Bill 549, was argued before the court in June.

Review the many quality professional development resources available through the Kansas National Education Association. Plan now to request KNEA resources and assistance. 

Created by teachers and KNEA staff, these effective, user-friendly trainings are eligible for Individual Development Plan (IDP) points. The KNEA Educator's Resource Library has additional staff development resources.

Now available:

• The Teacher's Guide to the Kansas Performance Assessment - From the "basics" to training for support providers and  everything in between.
• "I Can Do It" classroom management training.
• Bullyproof - provides harassment prevention strategies for K-12 teachers to use with their students.
• PDC Training by the KNEA/Greenbush Professional Development Cadre - what every PDC member needs to know about the Professional  Development regulations and the Kansas Staff Development Standards.
• The KEYS Online Survey provides data for school improvement planning; a continuum of support services are available once the data is generated.
• KNEA's Quality Public Schools Cadre - leaders and members with specialized training who are available to help with school improvement efforts.

Members may get these resources for free. Simply contact KNEA.

It can be a parent's worst nightmare. A rainy day in the summer. Suddenly you're trapped with a house full of antsy kids. But if you plan ahead, you can keep your children entertained despite the weather, according to members of the Kansas National Education Association (KNEA).

Here are a few tips from KNEA teachers:

• Keep a collection of old - but entertaining - clothing so that your kids can play dress-up. Some items may include hats, shoes, dresses, wigs and trousers with suspenders. You'll be surprised what sorts of games kids will play when they take on new characters in their new clothes.
• A puppet show can cure boredom. Make a stage out of old cardboard boxes or even buy one and have the kids help make puppets out of old socks or popsicle sticks.
• Have an indoor picnic. Pack a basket of goodies, spread a blanket out on the floor and pretend you're in the woods.
• Be on the lookout for fun pictures that you find in magazines and newspapers. Cut these out and keep them in an old shoe box or ice-cream bucket then let kids pick out three pictures each. Ask them to make up a story that involves each of the pictures that they have chosen.
• Bake and decorate cookies. Make multicolored frosting using a few drops of food coloring mixed with plain white icing. Kids can use toothpicks to decorate the cookies. Don't forget to supply them with plenty of sprinkles.
• Read!

More advice for parents!

The 2006 State Legislature passed a bill that had a major impact on teachers who retire and then choose to return to teaching. For retired members who are now defined as "at-will" employees, KNEA continues to protect members' rights, provide liability protections, conflict resolution assistance with administrators and/or parents and other vital resources. Here is a Q & A about SB 270, its impact on KPERS and what KNEA is doing about it.

National Education Association President Reg Weaver said that teachers welcome the accountability measures imposed by the No Child Left Behind Act … and they demand the same from Congress when the law comes up for renewal in 2007.

Some 175 Kansans are attending the NEA Representative Assembly (NEA RA) in Florida this week. Click here for news releases describing activities at the NEA RA.

Weaver said members will intensify efforts to get Congress to increase education spending and loosen guidelines the NEA says threatens teachers' jobs, even if only some of their students fail.

"We are not afraid, although our detractors would like to paint us that way," Weaver told about 9,000 delegates at the NEA's annual meeting, which ends Wednesday. "Accountability is not a one-way street. You can't hold us accountable for environments over which we have no control."

The NEA is also calling for a reduction in class size to 15 students, professional development resources for teachers and for giving states more flexibility in measuring and reacting to school test performance.

The No Child Left Behind Act, passed by Congress in 2001, was championed by President Bush as a way to hold schools accountable.

Under the law, schools are required to test students in math and reading and report their scores by group, such as race, disability, English language ability or economic situation. If one group of students fails to meet standards, an entire school can face penalties.

The NEA has sued the federal government over the law, arguing it puts unfair financial burdens on states and school districts. A judge threw out the lawsuit but the NEA has appealed.

On July 1, the day a new booster seat law takes effect in Kansas, Safe Kids is sponsoring child safety seat check-ups and booster seat distributions around the state to highlight the importance of properly restraining children on every ride.

Nationally certified child passenger safety technicians at check-up events throughout Kansas will provide car seat inspections on a drop-in basis. The inspections are free and over 500 booster seats will be distributed at the events.

 "This is an opportunity for parents and caregivers to get free, individualized, hands-on training in the proper installation and setup of their own seats in their own vehicles," said KNEA President Christy Levings. 

These events are being held to provide parents with the information that they need to comply with the new law and to keep their kids safe.

When securing children in a booster seat, drivers should make sure the shoulder belt is snug across the chest and rests flat across the center of the collarbone. The shoulder belt should never be placed behind a child's back or under the arm. For additional information on how to properly secure children in booster seats, visit www.kansasboosterseat.org.

The new Booster Seat Law takes effect July 1, 2006.  The new law requires that children ages 4 - 7 ride in a booster seat instead of an adult seat belt unless the child weighs more than 80 pounds, or the child is taller than 4 feet 9 inches, or only a lap belt is available. 

The new Kansas law requires that

• Children be secured in an appropriate child passenger safety restraint.
• Children under 1 year old and 20 pounds must ride in a rear-facing child seat.
• Children 1, 2 and 3 must be properly restrained in a forward-facing child seat.
• Children 4, 5, 6 and 7 must ride in a booster seat unless the child weighs more than 80 pounds or the child is taller than 4 feet 9 inches.
• Children ages 8 through 13 must be protected by a safety belt.

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children in the 4 through 7 age range, and booster seats used properly with safety belts have been proven more effective than safety belts alone at reducing the risk of injury to children involved in a crash. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in June 2003 concluded that children ages 4 through 7 using booster seats were 59 percent less likely to be injured in a crash than children who were restrained only by an adult safety belt.

Safe Kids Kansas, Inc. is a nonprofit Coalition of 67 statewide organizations and businesses dedicated to preventing accidental injuries to Kansas children ages 0-14.   Local coalitions and chapters are located in Allen, Anderson, Atchison, Clay, Coffey, Dickinson, Doniphan, Douglas, Ellis,  Ford, Franklin, Geary, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Leavenworth, Marion, Meade, Mitchell, Montgomery, Nemaha, Osage, Pottawatomie, Republic, Rice, Riley, Saline, Smith, Shawnee, Wabaunsee, Wilson and Woodson Counties, as well as the cities of Chanute, Emporia, Leaven-worth, Norton, Pittsburg, the Wichita Area and the Metro Kansas City Area.  Safe Kids Kansas a member of Safe Kids Worldwide, a global network of organizations whose mission is to prevent accidental childhood injury.

NEA's Annual Meeting includes the largest democratic decision-making body in the world

Some 175 Kansans are among the 9,000 delegates representing teachers, education support professionals and higher education faculty meeting in Orlando, Fla., to shape the National Education Association's policies. NEA's Annual Meeting and Representative Assembly (RA) runs Friday, June 30 through Wednesday, July 5.

Delegates will take part in NEA's Representative Assembly, the largest democratic decision-making body in the world. Every year, teachers and other education professionals meet to discuss and vote on critical issues facing public education in the halls of Congress, in state legislatures and in the classroom, such as No Child Left Behind, teacher recruitment and education funding.

"Delegates are elected to represent the views of all school staff," said KNEA President Christy Levings. "As NEA members, we are coming together to talk with those from other states who do what we do about what we can do collectively to make all kids successful."

This year, NEA will present a plan for delegate approval that lays out the Association's strategic goals for reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (aka No Child Left Behind). Delegates will attend the Joint Conference on Concerns of Minorities and Women, addressing challenges such as creating academic success for students of all cultures. In addition, delegates will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the merger between NEA and the American Teachers Association, honoring that organizations' advocacy for the education of all students during segregation.

At the 2005 Representative Assembly, NEA announced a nationwide campaign for a $40,000 minimum starting salary for teachers and an appropriate living wage for other school personnel. In addition, in 2004, NEA announced its landmark lawsuit challenging the unfunded mandates of the No Child Left Behind Act.

"We'll celebrate everyone's tireless work for quality public schools, but also take a hard look at the state of public education," NEA President Reg Weaver said. "Education professionals are too often forced to play defense. This is a chance to talk about the successes and problems we've seen in schools, and use that first-hand experience to fight proactively for what we know is best for engaging students and helping them succeed."

Highlights of the 2006 NEA Annual Meeting and Representative Assembly:
 
June 25 - 28
Aspiring teachers will gather for the NEA Student Leadership Conference , "Learn Today, Lead Tomorrow." The conference will help them become more effective leaders in their student associations as well as exceptional teachers when they graduate. 
 
June 26
More than 300 volunteers will help paint, landscape and clean Eccleston Elementary School as part of Outreach to Teach. Welcoming remarks begin at 7:45 a.m. Eccleston is a Title I school located in the southwest section of Orlando. The NEA Student Program started Outreach to Teach in 1996 to give back to a local school in the city hosting the Annual Meeting.
 
June 27 - 28
More than 1,000 NEA members will attend the Joint Conference on Concerns of Minorities and Women to address issues of race and gender in schools and create academic success for students of all cultures.
 
June 29
Delegates will take time out to read to local children as part of NEA's Read Across America , a year-round program to promote adults and children reading together on a regular basis. Students from local public schools and Boys' and Girls' Clubs will be NEA's special guests for this event. 
 
July 1
Each year NEA honors educators, public servants and activists who fight tirelessly to promote social justice and dignity for all citizens . This year, 14 individuals from across the country are to be honored at the 40th Annual Human and Civil Rights Awards Dinner. The event begins at 6:30 p.m.
 
July 3
Members will celebrate the 40 th anniversary of the merger between NEA and the predominantly Black American Teachers Association . The celebration will honor the trailblazers who shaped the face of public education, especially education for Black students throughout the South and Southeast.
 
Also on Monday, Nancy Toombs, custodian supervisor at South Heights Elementary School in Henderson, Ky., will address the delegates as NEA's 2006 Education Support Professional of the Year . The award is NEA's highest honor for professionals in the field of education support.
 
July 4
NEA member Kimberly Oliver, a kindergarten teacher at Broad Acres Elementary School in Silver Spring, Md., will address the delegates as the 2006 National Teacher of the Year . During her six years in the classroom, Oliver has played a pivotal role in developing and executing several programs designed to improve student achievement. 
 
July 5
NEA presents its Friend of Education Award to the Tom Joyner Foundation , which has raised more than $30 million for students at historically Black colleges and universities across the nation. The award recognizes individuals whose leadership, acts and support have raised the level of excellence in American public education. 

For more information and a full listing of scheduled events:  www.nea.org/annualmeeting.  

The annual meeting of the National Education Association  is being held and its focus is making recruiting and retaining quality teachers and making public schools great for every child.

"It has come to our attention that the American Family Association and possibly other conservative groups have begun a malicious e-mail campaign distorting the facts related to proposed amendment changes," said Reg Weaver, NEA President.

"While I understand that the emails and phone calls you are receiving are generating concern, we must not allow the tactics and manipulations of these divisive groups to derail our process," he said. "NEA has no position on same-sex marriages, and leadership is not seeking to establish such a position. We are focused on Great Public Schools for Every Child."

and Save!

Joining the NEA-Retired is even more attractive this year.  On September 1, 2006, NEA Retired lifetime dues will increase from $100 to $200 and annual NEA-Retired dues will increase from $15 to $25.  This year is the last year you will be able to join at a substantial savings.

“Joining the Retired Program just makes good financial sense,” said KNEA-R President Terry Jochems. “KNEA-R members are eligible for the NEA Member Benefits that are important to us – Medicare Supplement Insurance, life and long-term care insurance.  We get to keep our car and homeowners insurance with A+ or Horace Mann.  KNEA-R   members also get the Membership Access card which our members depend on for everyday savings.  For those of us who like to substitute teach periodically, we are still covered by the $1 million liability policy. It is just a great deal.”

Retired members who pay NEA-R and KNEA-R dues on an annual basis can transfer their membership to lifetime status.  The cost is $150 to KNEA-Retired and $100 to NEA-R.

KNEA active members can join as pre-retired members.  This is how it works: only KNEA active members are eligible to join as pre-retired members.  You pay the retired lifetime dues while you are still working and when you retire your membership and benefits move seamlessly from the active retired category.  The cost to join NEA-R is $100 and KNEA-R lifetime dues are $150.  Jochems notes that to be “eligible for retired membership, you must be a KNEA member during your last year of teaching.”

Ensuring your membership benefits is easy.  Just complete a retired or pre-retired form and send the dues payment to KNEA.  You can also pay in 10 equal installments.  Contact Tracy Wertzberger  at KNEA (1-800-432-3573) and ask for an electronic fund transfer (EFT) form. Attach it to your blank check marked VOID and send it to KNEA-R with your first $25 installment.

For details, contact Claudette Johns at KNEA.

The U.S. Department of Education is allowing only two states, North Carolina and Tennessee, to use a pilot program called a “growth model” to measure student progress under the No Child Left Behind law.  Growth models are a more effective measure of student achievement than the Adequate Yearly Progress system, which measures the percentage of students who score at the proficient level on the day of the test.

While two states were approved for the growth model program, five other states (Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, South Carolina and Utah) that applied to the program were rejected and six other states (Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, Delaware, Florida and Oregon) were rejected after a second review.  The National Education Association and 80 national organizations have signed a joint statement regarding NCLB that calls for the expanded use of growth models.

“Since this law was signed in 2002, NEA has shared the Administration’s goals to improve and measure academic achievement.  That is why we called on the Administration to abandon the current, one-day snapshot approach to measuring student progress.  It is not a valid or useful means for holding schools accountable," said NEA President Reg Weaver. 

“We are encouraged that the U.S. Department of Education is allowing two states to participate in this pilot program—they now acknowledge the potential for a better way.  Yet other states were denied the opportunity to use this common-sense growth model system, which would give schools credit for progress in student achievement both over time and within the school year. NEA stands ready to work with the Administration to improve the current system and expand the growth model pilot program to include more states.  And we call on Congress to amend the law to include such a provision.”

For some, that is a welcome phrase.  You and your students have worked hard.  You all deserve time to refresh yourselves, to relax and to reflect on the past year and the year to come.

For Teachers - End the school year on a positive note
Whether you’re a beginning teacher or a veteran, we can all benefit from reviewing what we’ve done in the past and looking for new ways to strengthen our teaching skills.

• Be sure all paperwork is done and submitted on time.
• Thank students, parents, and colleagues for a good year – in person or with a quick personal note.
• Sort and file materials for use next year. If you’ll be teaching the same subject or same grade level, take the time now, while it’s still fresh in your mind, to review lesson plans and sequencing and make notes about things that were especially successful – or things that you need to work on before you try them again.
• Make sure you understand what can and what cannot be left in the classroom over the summer. Nothing’s worse than returning to school in the fall and finding paint all over your materials.
• Over the course of the school year, you’ve probably identified areas of classroom instruction, content or even personal relations skills that you feel could be improved. After reflecting on things that went well – and those that didn’t – develop a plan on how to address identified needs during the summer recess. 
  Remember – how the school year ends can be just as important as how it begins.

For Students
For some students, the time between the end of one year and the beginning of the next is not so good.  Hard-learned skills get fuzzy from lack of use.  The months of June, July and August don’t always provide the kind of activities and opportunities that reinforce learning.

Some call it the “summer activity gap.”  Research by Tiffani Chin and Meredith Phillips,  “The Season of Inequality: Exploring the Summer Achievement Gap,” (American Educator, summer 2005) confirms that:

• While most children learn at about the same pace during the school year, poor children tend to fall behind academically during the summer months.  In terms of grade-level equivalents, the reading gap between low- and middle-income children widens by more than three months.
• The summer activities of 32 Southern California children who had just completed fourth grade were studied to investigate how and why students from different social class backgrounds had disparate summer experiences. The differences in children’s summer experiences resulted largely from differences in their families’ financial resources, knowledge, and time – but not from a lesser desire to expose their children to enriching educational experiences.

Chin and Phillips also found that “some of the most egregious summer inequalities were not explicitly academic.  Rather, poor children were most disadvantaged in terms of their opportunities to develop their artistic, musical, and athletic talents and to experience new environments.”

While this research looked specifically at social class background, there is reason to be concerned about the summer learning opportunities for all students.

You can help!  
For starters, a quick search on Google using the term “end of the school year” turned up 331 million hits!  They included suggestions for lessons to end the school year as well as things to suggest for the summer.  There are bound to be at least one or two references that resonate for you and your students! Here are some other suggestions:

• Prepare a calendar for the time between the last day of this school year and the first day of the next school.  Include one activity for each day. 
  Each week include a balance of activities for reading, writing, math, science, social studies, physical education, art and music.
• Use the internet or almanacs to highlight special days, holidays and other observances.
• Download a copy of “Summer Fun With Reading” from the KPIRC Web site (Kansas Parent Information Resource Center).  The 12-page booklet is available in English and in Spanish.  Make it available to families. Also at this Web site are activities that reinforce math and science concepts, vocabulary, fluency, phonics, phonemic awareness and comprehension plus hundreds of activities for K, 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade students.
• As students review for end-of-year/semester tests or other culminating activities, have them generate questions and answers that relate to what they’ve learned.  Use the questions to make up games using popular game-show formats.
• Be sure that students know about local library schedules, including bookmobile sites, where applicable.

Click here for more great advice from KNEA teachers .

Early symptoms of the disease -- lethargy, lack of focus, difficulty making decisions -- often appear in the fall. By spring the average, healthy high school senior may have completely succumbed.

Senioritis attacks high-achieving, average and struggling students alike. By this time in the school year, most college-bound seniors have turned in their applications and received their acceptance letters. Many of them understandably feel entitled to a little downtime.

The 30% of seniors who aren't headed for higher learning may not have figured out what they want to do after graduation, but they are pretty sure that it won't require algebra or Shakespeare. In short, the second semester of the last year of high school is a kind of waiting room for the next stage of life.

But over the past few years, high schools and colleges have begun experimenting with ways to keep students more engaged during the period between homecoming weekend and the senior prom. Those efforts include internships that keep seniors motivated by allowing them to explore their passions, dual-enrollment programs on college campuses that offer a sneak preview of the higher-education experience and tests designed to alert those likely to have trouble keeping up in college that they should buckle down.

Click here for more.

The NEA Foundation funds hundreds of Innovation Grants and Learning & Leadership Grants to support great ideas.  Grant amounts are either $2,000 or $5,000 per project.  Those who apply by June 1, 2006 will be notified by November 15, 2006.

Innovation Grants fund project-based learning that significantly improves achievement for underserved students.  Learning & Leadership Grants provide opportunities to engage in high-quality professional development and lead colleagues in professional growth. Grants are available for all subjects including the arts, literacy, science and technology. 

Practicing K–12 public school teachers, education support professionals, or faculty and staff at public higher education institutions are eligible to apply (with preference given to members of the National Education Association).  We encourage grant applications from teachers and staff with less than seven years of experience in the profession and education support professionals.

Please visit www.neafoundation.org for details on grant programs, guidelines, examples of funded projects and an application.   

Wamego Kindergarten Teacher Roxie Pererson receives Kansas NEA Excellence in Teaching Award

The Kansas National Education Association’s coveted Excellence in Teaching Award was presented to Wamego kindergarten teacher Roxie Peterson.

Peterson was honored by the 500 delegates attending the KNEA Representative Assembly April 23 in Topeka. She is Kansas NEA's nomination for the NEA Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence, which recognizes excellence in teaching and advocacy for the profession and includes a $25,000 grant. The finalists are chosen based on their outstanding instructional expertise, creativity and innovation, attention to diversity and individual student needs, learning styles and leadership experiences. Peterson is a member of the Wamego Teachers Association.

Peterson believes that all children can learn and that having high expectations of everyone makes a difference in the lives of her students. “The trick is to provide activities in incremental steps where the children can experience success,” Peterson said.

KNEA President Christy Levings said Peterson models those philosophies in her teaching style and in her activities as part of the 2006 Kansas Teacher of the Year team.

Peterson, who teaches at Central Elementary School, told delegates that it is teachers' responsibility to prepare students to be life-long learners. Teachers, too, need to be life-long learners through research based professional development opportunities, she said. While the emphasis on the federal funding laws is on academics, Peterson noted, “It takes a team effort by parents, educators, community and legislators to help a child succeed and instill values that are important.”

Peterson encouraged educators to form networks of support and to develop a mentality of teamwork early in their careers. When she visits college classes, she advises future and new teachers to “seek out mentors that give you the wealth of information they have accumulated and continue to seek out opportunities to grow as a learner. Then sit back and enjoy one of the most rewarding and satisfying careers.”

The Teacher Working Conditions (TWC) Survey was completed by 21,770 or 52% of all Kansas educators.

The data will be used in the following ways:

• Locals/schools may use results as one piece of data to consider as a part of school improvement planning.
• Locals/district may use results as they identify needed resources and professional development to help schools and the district improve.
• KNEA will use data with policy makers to advocate for resources and sensible decisions to help students learn and to support the educators working in Kansas public schools.

"Used wisely, the data can have a positive impact on student learning, school climate, teacher retention and satisfaction, and provide a spirit of accountability as we work with policy-makers to ensure schools have the resources they need," said KNEA Vice President Blake West. 

While the work to analyze and interpret results is underway, here are the initial results.

•  87% of Kansas educators believe that faculty are committed to helping every student learn.
• Time is generally the greatest concern for educators.  Educators believe it has a significant impact on their ability to positively impact student learning. 
• Only 39% believe non-instructional time they receive is sufficient. 
• Less than half (44%) agree that teachers have time available to collaborate with colleagues. 
• Just over half of teachers feel their class sizes (55%) and student loads (52%) are reasonable, affording them time to meet the educational needs of all students. 
• 30% of teachers spend, on average 10 hours or more on school related activities outside the regular work day every week and more than two-thirds (68%) spend at least five hours.  Most of this time is spent preparing, grading papers, attending meetings, etc. 
• More than half (54%) of educators work 10 or more days beyond their current contract to improve their teaching and their school.
• Leadership is critical to school success.  59% of educators agree that the school leadership in their school is effective.  While they believe that leaders support teachers (62%), provide fair evaluations (71%) and clearly communicate expectations (63%), there are concerns about leadership ability to improve (42%) and empower teachers (49%).

If a school or district wishes to delve deeper into school organization data for improvement, contact KNEA Director of Instructional Advocacy Peg Dunlap   to learn about KEYS 2.0 for school improvement - a data-driven tool with ongoing staff-development resources for school change.

Preliminary findings are available online for any school or district with at least a 40% completion rate and at least five respondents.  Find results at www.kansastwc.org.

The project was funded through a partnership of the office of Governor Kathleen Sebelius, the KNEA and the United School Administrators of Kansas.

Thousands will take time to honor local teachers and acknowledge the contributions they make to our lives

Thank a teacher on National Teacher Day, May 9.  This year's theme is "Great Teachers Make Great Public Schools." The theme helps draw attention to the important role teachers have in making sure every child receives a quality public education. It also communicates the hard work teachers do each day to make public schools great for every child.

The National Education Association Web site  has helpful resources such as camera-ready artwork, suggested activities and sample news releases, proclamations and editorials.

While it does take a lot of people to make a school succeed, National Teacher Day focuses on the teachers who work to make public schools great places for students to succeed in life. The nation choose this day to specifically honor teachers and recognize the lasting contributions they make to our lives.

KNEA would like to acknowledge and thank the board, staff, and volunteers of Teachers Count for their support of America's teachers.

 
The House spent the entire day debating numerous versions of school finance plans. In the end, the House flipped on school finance, rejecting their earlier school finance bill for a much cheaper version loaded with bad policy ideas.

Here are details

KNEA members have an opportunity to discover the possibilities of home ownership in the NEA "Reach for the Dream" affordable home tour.

The first ever Affordable Home Tour will showcase existing homes and new construction on the following dates and locations. All tours are from 1 - 4 p.m.

• June 4th & 11th, 1:00 p.m. -  4 p.m. in Wichita, Topeka, Lawrence and Hays
• June 11th, 1:00 p.m. -  4 p.m. in Independence
• August 13th, 1:00 p.m. -  4 p.m. in Pittsburg

There is no charge for the tour. 

For details, email susan.williams2@wellsfargo.com.
 

KNEA President Christy Levings presents the KNEA Human and Civil Rights Award to Ogden Elementary School Principal Jim Armendariz.

Kansas NEA Human and Civil Rights Award honors Jim Armendariz

Because of his unwavering commitment to putting the rights of every child first and for his role in mentoring an entire staff to do the same, Kansas NEA is honoring Ogden Elementary School Principal Jim Armendariz with the Human and Civil Rights Award.

Some 500 delegates paid tribute to Armendariz during the KNEA Representative Assembly April 23 in Topeka. “Children look to him as a safe and reliable adult to turn to and are rewarded with firmness and compassion,” said KNEA President Christy Levings in announcing the award.  “Jim advocates for the rights of children in danger of abuse and neglect. He fights daily for the rights of students in special education and English as a second language education programs.”

A long-time KNEA member and activist, Armendariz has been an administrator and science/technology teacher since 1989. He is a REACH (Reaffirming Ethnic Awareness & Community Harmony) graduate and is trained in the GESA (Generating Expectations for Student Achievement) Program.  Armendariz is a Ruby Payne (Understanding Poverty) trainer who educates others in how to teach children to deal with the world around them. As a child of immigrants who grew up in poverty, he brings unique insights to this task and does not accept these circumstances as an excuse for failure, Levings said. He has high expectations for all the children in his care, and expects his staff to have the same.

Armendariz has a reputation for supporting his staff in using their skills and knowledge to increase student achievement. The entire staff took the Girls and Boys Town training so that everyone could communicate the same set of expectations to every student. Together, they provide a safe school environment that promotes high achievement, Levings said.

NEA President Weaver vows to protect public schools

School finance, teacher working conditions and student achievement were hot topics at the Kansas NEA Representative Assembly (RA) April 21-23 in Topeka.

National Education Association President Reg Weaver's enthusiasm and fervor had delegates on their feet shouting their support for public schools. He noted that Congress drastically cut federal education funding and froze grants for attending college. "The current federal budget contains the largest proposed cuts by a president in nearly a decade," he said adding that the funding for K-12 education in 2011 may be less than in 2003. "Our children are not pawns, to be trotted out at press time," Weaver said. "It's wrong when someone says they want to leave no child left behind and then turn around and launch the greatest assault on public education." In announcing a new collaboration with the Bill Gates' "Stand Up Project," Weaver said Team NEA's message on parental involvement and support for schools is being picked up by other national organizations.

Convening her last RA as Kansas NEA President, Christy Levings received numerous accolades for her leadership and for effectively sharing the positive message about Kansas public schools. In her keynote she noted that for 143 years KNEA has been a powerful voice for good schools, kids and families. "We have a lot to celebrate and a lot at stake," Levings said. She admonished delegates to be role models in citizenship, to promote public schools locally and to work with and for policy makers who support Kansas public schools.

Nearly 600 locally elected delegates set policy and guidelines for the Kansas NEA during the RA. In addition to addressing a myriad of issues that impact Kansas public schools, the delegates broke into groups to talk about the direction and future activities of KNEA in the areas of quality public schools, strengthening the teaching profession and improving the well-being of members. In "learning sessions" delegates discussed the results of the statewide Teacher Working Conditions survey, wellness and health insurance programs and KNEA education and teaching profession resources.  Weaver and Levings facilitated a question/answer session on "Hot Topics."

The delegates honored:
KNEA Friend of Education - Wichita Eagle Editorial Cartoonist Richard Crowson
Crowson was thanked for his political courage, talent and wit and for being an important high profile supporter of public schools in Kansas. He supports teacher issues, lampoons the enemies of public education, and provides humorous and probing insight into the major issues affecting Kansas schools and communities.

The KNEA Excellence in Teaching Award - Wamego Kindergarten Teacher Roxie Peterson
Peterson's belief that all children can learn and that having high expectations of everyone makes a difference in the lives of her students is modeled in her teaching and in her activities as part of the 2006 Kansas Teacher of the Year team. An award-winning educator, Peterson said teachers' responsibility is to prepare students to be life-long learners, not simply to pass the next assessment. It takes a team effort to help a child succeed and instill values that are important today, she added. Peterson will now be the Kansas nominee for the NEA Teaching Excellence Award.

KNEA Human and Civil Rights Award -Manhattan Elementary Principal Jim Armendariz
An administrator and science and technology teacher since 1989, Armendariz was honored for his unwavering commitment to putting the rights of every single child first, and his role in mentoring an entire staff to do the same. Children see him as a safe and reliable adult to turn to, and are rewarded with firmness and compassion.  He advocates for the rights of children in danger of abuse and neglect and for students in special education and English as a second language education. A long-time KNEA member, Armendariz has high expectations for staff and supports them in using their skills and knowledge to increase student achievement.

KNEA President Christy Levings (right) presents the KNEA Friend of Education Award to Wichita Eagle Editorial Cartoonist Richard Crowson.

KNEA's Friend of Education is Wichita Eagle Editorial Cartoonist Richard Crowson

Kansas NEA’s highest honor, the Friend of Education Award, was presented to Wichita Eagle Editorial Cartoonist Richard Crowson. He was honored by the 500 delegates attending the KNEA Representative Assembly April 23 in Topeka.

“If I am a friend of education, it’s because public education has been a friend to me,” Crowson said in accepting the award. He thanked and congratulated educators for the work they do every day in Kansas public schools.

KNEA President Christy Levings thanked Crowson for his political courage, talent and wit and for being an important, high profile supporter of public schools in Kansas. “Richard Crowson supports teacher issues, lampoons the enemies of public education and provides humorous and probing insight into the major issues affecting Kansas schools and communities,” she said.

“As editorial cartoonist for the Wichita Eagle, Richard’s ability and willingness to encapsulate current education topics into clever and humorous editorial cartoons is deeply appreciated by teachers in public schools,” said United Teachers of Wichita President Paul Babich. “Wichita and south central Kansas is a hot bed of political conservatism. Some Wichita legislators are not public school supporters,” he said. “In the face of this political agenda, Richard wields his cartoonist’s pen with flair and biting accuracy, while adding a bit of humor to intense and serious topics.”

Born and raised in Memphis, Crowson “cartooned his way” through high school and Memphis State University. After eight years of drawing for The Jackson (Tenn. ) Sun, he became the Eagle’s first full-time editorial cartoonist in 1987.  His work has been reprinted in Time, Newsweek, The New York Times, Washington Post and USAToday. A collection of his Eagle editorial cartoons entitled “Prairie Mirth” was published in 1992.

Cartoons by Richard Crowson (Reprinted with permission of Wichita Eagle , Richard Crowson)

Governor Kathleen Sebelius announced that schools and districts with at least 40% completion on the recent Kansas Teacher Working Conditions survey  now have the preliminary results available online to help with school improvement planning.  The Governor's news release is below.

Approximately 22,000 teachers and administrators (53 percent of Kansas educators) responded to the survey – the highest response rate of any state conducting a working conditions survey to date. Teachers from virtually every district participated, and data is available for approximately 1,000 schools and over 200 districts.

A briefing on the data will be presented to all delegates to the KNEA Representative Assembly on Saturday, the April 22nd in Topeka.

Training events are being set up in each of KNEA's regions (called UniServ districts) to help local educators with understanding the data, making reasonable interpretations and finding resources for school improvement linked to the findings for schools and districts. 

Gov. Sebelius announces results of survey of Kansas teachers
Kansas schools can access data to assess and improve teacher working conditions

Schools are key to Kansans' continued prosperity, and key to every successful student is a good teacher.  Seeking to recruit and retain quality teachers, Governor Kathleen Sebelius today released preliminary results from a survey of more than 21,000 Kansas teachers and administrators on working conditions in Kansas schools.

The 2006 Kansas Teacher Working Condition Survey asked teachers and education professionals to assess school conditions in the areas of time, professional development, facilities and resources, school leadership and teacher empowerment. More than twenty-one thousand professionals from virtually every district responded and sufficient responses were recorded to provide data for almost 1,000 schools and more than 200 districts across the state. 

Under the leadership of Governor Sebelius in partnership with the Kansas National Education Association and the United School Administrators of Kansas, Kansas became just the second state to release school data from such an initiative, with as many as a dozen additional states following the state's lead over the next year. 

By releasing the survey results, individual schools and districts will have reliable data regarding their own teachers' perspective on their working conditions and the impact of these conditions on teacher retention.  The data allows individual schools and communities to consider appropriate policies and programs to address the unique concerns of their teachers.

"Kansas teachers must have the resources and support they need to serve all students well, and these survey results show many areas where we are creating outstanding learning environments, but also highlight a few areas where we can work toward improvement," said Sebelius.

Initial findings from the 2006 Kansas Teacher Working Conditions Survey indicate many positive trends:

• 79 percent of educators agree their school is a good place to work and learn;
• 87 percent of Kansas educators believe faculty are committed to helping every student learn;
• 85 percent believe their schools are safe; and
• 86 percent say their goal is to stay at their current school.
  

The survey results also indicate some critical areas where teachers need additional support to be successful, namely time for teachers to plan and work collaboratively.  Time was the condition that educators believed had the greatest impact on student learning, but was the area of the survey where teacher perceptions were most negative.

Results stated:

• Only 39 percent of educators believe non-instructional time they receive is sufficient;
• 55 percent of teachers believe their class sizes are reasonable and afford them time to meet the educational needs of all students; and
• 51 percent said they needed additional support to improve working with special education students and 47 percent want to enhance their knowledge and skills around closing the achievement gap.

The Center for Teaching Quality (CTQ) helped conduct the survey and will provide more-in depth analyses correlating results to student achievement gains and teacher retention rates. 

Eric Hirsch, Executive Director of CTQ, said the group is conducting statewide and pilot working condition surveys across the country and the 52 percent statewide response in Kansas is the highest statewide response to date. 

Hirsch said, "Kansas will benefit from a Governor and education stakeholders with the foresight to ask educators about teacher working conditions that influence student learning.  Such a great response rate will provide a wealth of data at the state level and almost 1,000 schools with information they can use to improve."

Along with the data results, Governor Sebelius, KNEA, and CTQ are also working to develop a set of tools and supports to help schools move toward action on these issues. 

Helping schools make working conditions part of school improvement plans, recognizing best practices around working conditions, and promoting tools like the working conditions toolkit  should help move schools from understanding toward sustainable reform.  Additional outreach and support will be provided to help ensure that this data is used to make all schools in Kansas are great places to work and learn.

600 educators to address school finance, teaching issues

Teachers from across Kansas will meet in Topeka April 21-23 to outline goals for the Kansas National Education Association. The annual Representative Assembly (RA) includes 600 teachers, education support personnel such as school secretaries and paraprofessionals, student teachers, retired teachers and higher education faculty -- all elected to represent their colleagues back home.

National Education Association President Reg Weaver will address the Representative Assembly on Saturday.

During the KNEA RA members set the course for the KNEA by considering new business items, which involve actions on the part of KNEA, and resolutions, which are statements of belief. The delegates will take on tough issues to maintain the quality teaching and learning that is taking place in Kansas public schools. Kansas public schools still rank in the top ten on all national standards. The progress of the State Legislature in funding public schools and the ongoing teacher shortage should be hot topics.

Delegates will spend part of their time learning about KNEA's work to achieve specific strategic objectives.  Findings and activities involving the recent statewide Teacher Working Conditions survey will be shared. Other topics to be discussed during "community conversations" include the resources KNEA provides to support quality public schools and the teaching profession and wellness and health insurance programs. 

The KNEA Friend of Education Award and the KNEA Teaching Excellence Award will be announced during the RA.

Tell the kids to turn off the TV, put away the video games and turn down the iPods.  Millions of students, parents, teachers, librarians and other education support professionals, celebrities and athletes will Drop Everything and Read (D.E.A.R.), reminding families to find 30 minutes daily for reading together.

In celebration of National D.E.A.R. Day-and as part of its commitment to promote children's literacy and motivate readers of all ages-the National Education Association, with support from HarperCollins Children's Books, offers teachers and librarians across the country a new funding opportunity called the D.E.A.R. Bookshelf Awards.

"In the time that it takes to watch a rerun of Friends, parents can get a book off the shelf and engage their children in reading fun," said NEA President Reg Weaver.  "To increase access to books, the D.E.A.R. Bookshelf Awards provide funding for public schools and libraries-and the communities they serve-to purchase books, supplies and materials so that everyone can make reading a family affair."

More than 20 percent of U.S. children live in poverty and on average economically disadvantaged students have one or two age appropriate books in their homes.  Among low-income families, 61 percent of children have no books at all.  The D.E.A.R. Bookshelf Awards will help enrich book collections in classroom, school and public libraries and increase access to titles that kids will want to drop everything for and read.

The 2.8 million-member NEA, the nation's largest professional employee organization, and HarperCollins developed D.E.A.R. Bookshelf Awards to provide financial support to organizations who serve students in an effort to rebuild public school libraries.  The organizations are awarding 20 grants totaling $10,000.  The grants will be used for projects developed and executed by young people.  The competition received an unprecedented 1,500 entries.

Please see the attached list of winners for this year's D.E.A.R. Bookshelf Awards.  For more information, visit the NEA  Web site.

The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) is inviting Kansas teachers to participate in one of the secondary mathematics and biology teacher panels that will make recommendations leading to professional benchmarks.

Registration must be completed by May 15. ETS will mail invitations to individuals on the registration list by May 23, and request a response by June 5. Individuals who fit within the criteria noted above and who would like to participate in the June 27 benchmarking panel for mathematics or biology can register with ETS. There is no honorarium associated with this opportunity and no substitute pay can be offered.

Working together with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), NCATE is moving into the second phase of a project to develop professional "benchmark" scores on licensure tests for secondary mathematics and biology teachers.  ETS is supporting these efforts by submitting their widely used Praxis II tests for alignment reviews and by conducting formal "standard setting studies" for the benchmarking project.

For Praxis II tests in both mathematics (0061, Mathematics Content Knowledge) and biology (0235, Biology Content Knowledge), panels representing individuals knowledgeable about NCTM or NSTA content standards for teacher candidates met several months ago. Those panels determined that the tests are sufficiently well aligned with their association's standards to provide valid evidence of candidate proficiencies.

In the second phase of the benchmarking project, another group, primarily comprised of teachers, will recommend the minimum performance level needed for new teachers. The goal is to establish a score through a professional peer process that might at some point serve as a common "benchmark" performance that could be used in the NCATE accreditation system.

The task, more specifically, is that each teacher on a panel is asked to make two judgments about individual test items: first, indicate whether the item is relevant for the job of a new teacher (a validity question), and second, indicate the proportion of new teachers who are just at the minimum level acceptable for classroom teaching who would answer correctly. Teachers on these panels receive training and have an opportunity to practice before they make their decisions.  

Panels of 15 to 20 secondary math and biology teachers are needed. If the number of panelists for each subject test present on the day of the meeting fails to reach at least ten, the benchmarking study cannot be conducted. The teachers should have at least one year of experience but not more than seven. The panels for each subject test should reflect the nation's multiple diversities--along racial/ethnic, geographic, gender, urban and rural dimensions.

The session, with both mathematics and biology teachers, will be convened in the Holiday Inn at BWI Airport outside Baltimore on Tuesday, June 27. ETS will cover each panelist's expenses for travel, lodging, and meals.

If interested, here is the necessary information:

Click on this web link : http://ntis12.ets.org/onyx/standardsetting.htm.
For question 1, select "NCATE," not the state where you are teaching.
Provide the requested "work" and "personal" information for question 2.
Select "content" for question 3 For question 4, select "mathematics" or "biology" as appropriate.
Respond to questions 5 through 12
Click "submit
 

Blake West has been elected president of the Kansas National Education Association in a statewide election.  West, currently serving as KNEA Vice President, is on leave from the Blue Valley School District.

In a run-off election,   Sherri Yourdon was elected as KNEA Vice President and Teresa Preston was elected as the Higher Education representative on the KNEA board. All new board members take office on July 15.

“We have a tremendous heritage of leadership on which to build and, working together, I trust we will come even closer to achieving our shared vision for great public schools, a strong profession, and the well-being of each one of our members who works in public education,” said West.

Previously the KNEA Secretary-Treasurer, Sherri Yourdon is a counselor at Reno Valley Middle School in Nickerson and has been a counselor and taught English and journalism at Nickerson High School and English at El Dorado Middle School. She will be on leave to serve full-time as vice president.

Representing higher education on the KNEA Board will be Teresa Preston, Hutchinson National Faculty Association, who teaches art history at Hutchinson Community College.

The newly elected Secretary-Treasurer is Karen Godfrey, who teaches seventh and ninth grade English and ninth grade French at Logan Junior High School in the Seaman School District, USD 345.

KNEA Board members represent regions or UniServ areas.  Other newly elected board members to join the 24-person KNEA Board are:

Capital UniServ (Topeka and the surrounding communities)
Anna Moon Bradley, Marais des Cygnes Valley TA, teaches 9-12 grade language arts at Marais des Cygnes Valley High School.

Education Support Personnel
Patty Compton, Hutchinson NEA, is a custodian at Hutchinson High School.

Ethnic-Minority
Verlean Brown, United Teachers of Wichita, teaches special education at Kelly Elementary in USD 259.

Prairie Fire UniServ (Lawrence and the surrounding communities)
Sändra Walker,  Lawrence EA, teaches physical education at Hillcrest Elementary and has been a teacher in the Lawrence public schools for 26 years.

UD 114 (middle of the state including Salina )
Donald Wiest, Mankato Association of Professional Educators chemistry, physics, mathematics and general science at Mankato Junior and High schools.

Walnut Valley  (west and south of Wichita )
Dorothy Rucker teaches English, speech, journalism and forensics at Peabody Burns High School and has been an adjunct speech teacher at Butler County Community College.

A nationwide lawsuit has been reached in a class action lawsuit about inaccurate scores and "false failures" from the Praxis Principles of Learning and Teaching Grades 7 through 12 test given between Jan.2003 and April 2004.

If you took this test during this time period, call 1-888-279-4407 or visit www.PPLTclaims.com to view the Legal Notice regarding the nationwide settlement.

Last July the Kansas Legislature met the Supreme Court ruling on school finance on an interim basis. At that time, the Court told the Legislature to go ahead with their new school funding study to be conducted by the Legislative Post Audit Division and then to respond appropriately.

That study was done in time for the start of the 2006 Legislative Session in January. On March 31, 82 calendar days and 56 legislative meeting days later, both chambers adjourned with only the House having passed a bill on funding.

It was Thursday, March 23, when House moderate Republicans and Democrats united to hijack the Select Committee’s one-year, low funding, loaded-with-bad-policy education bill. They gutted the bill and put in their own three-year plan for school funding. It passed the House on Friday, March 24, with 64 votes. The bill was then sent to the Senate for their consideration.

The Senate had its own education funding bill sitting on their calendar (SB 584) and another by Sen. Jim Barnett (R-Emporia) sitting in committee (SB 501). In an unusual move by Senate leadership, it was decided to debate all three bills – Sub HB 2986, SB 584, and SB 501 – and give them each a vote. They all failed.

For more on school finance, go to KNEA's Legislative Week in Review in the At The Capitol section.

Schools Lack Funding to Comply with No Child Left Behind

Report’s Release Follows News That More Schools Have Failed to Meet Law’s Standards

"No Child Left Behind" has put a burden on schools, educators and education support professionals to comply with strict federal standards without supplying federal money to make necessary changes, according to a report released from the Center on Education Policy. Approximately 80 percent of school districts said they have costs associated with the law not covered by federal funding.

The law’s heavy emphasis on reading and math tests has prompted thousands of schools to reduce, and even eliminate, time spent on other subjects, the report said.  The law requires annual exams in those two subjects, and punishes schools that don’t make the grade. As a result, since 2002, when the law was passed, 71 percent of the nation's 15,000 school districts have reduced time spent on subjects like art, social studies and history.

The report’s release follows news this week of statistics reported to the Education Department that 27 percent of schools failed to meet “annual yearly progress” under the law for 2004-2005, a one percentage point increase from 2003-2004. Schools that fail to meet annual yearly progress face stiff penalties.

“Lawmakers say they want accountability, they want results, but they won’t back up the rhetoric. Schools are already hurting because No Child Left Behind has been underfunded by approximately $40 billion," said Reg Weaver, president of the National Education Association. "Now, Congress is talking about cutting even more, as part of the biggest cuts in the history of the Education Department as proposed by the president. If these lawmakers aren’t held accountable for these cuts, students are going to feel the impact for years to come."

“It should come as no surprise that schools are having a hard time meeting the one size fits all standards of the law. If lawmakers are serious about schools complying with No Child Left Behind, they should give schools the resources they need. The House Budget Committee is meeting to markup the budget bill, and lawmakers have the opportunity to get things right by undoing these cuts," he said.

Learning amid the destruction

“Cat-A-Vans” of NEA leaders delivered books to Gulf Coast schools during Read Across America. The tour through Baton Rouge, La., Beaumont, Texas, and Biloxi, Miss., brought books back to Gulf Coast schools.  NEA’s Reading Tour 2006 throughout the Gulf Coast states covered over 2,700 miles, delivered approximately 14,000 books, and visited more than 20,000 schoolchildren.

The weeklong tour culminated in the town of Chalmette, located in St. Bernard Parish, which largely had been missed by the news media spotlight to its higher-profile New Orleans neighbor. Of more than 13 schools in the parish, the former high school has ballooned in size and become a unified school, housing more than 1,600 students in grades pre-kindergarten through 12.

The following is an account by NEA Communications Director Andy Linebaugh, of books delivered on March 2, Dr. Seuss’ birthday:

“We drove south from Baton Rouge to LaPlace and from there to St. Bernard's Parish. We took I-12 to I-10 and then to I610 (exit in the two left lanes) to exit 3. I wasn't prepared. The closer we got to the school, which was about eight miles down the road, the more the area looked like a war zone. Nothing on television could have prepared me for the devastation that lay ahead. Nothing.

The street lights don't work. Stop lights don't work. Imagine, if you can, your house, demolished, and all the remains sitting in your driveway, in a big pile of concrete, wires, wood, sheetrock. Waiting to be taken away. Along the road were signs that read: "House gutting 99cents a square foot." The houses were all marked with ‘X's’ from those who had searched and rescued or recovered.

The conversation in the car ended. At first we were rubber-neckers, like those who slow down at an accident scene, hoping to see "something." Speaking for myself, I felt like an observer at 1,500 feet, untouched by
the human suffering and devastation that had taken place. Then it became painfully obvious of the absolute total devastation.

Block after block after block of destruction, of piles of rubble, of what was left of houses covered in blue tarps. Vans turned on their sides, still covered in the dry muck that was a remnant of the days of water. Eerie, haunting, disturbing. The air was permeated with the smell of mold. 

Six months after the hurricane hit, the area is still devastated. Where were the people? Nothing was open. There were some who were searching through rubble, for what, one only can guess. There were guys with cameras, taking picture of the destruction. Insurance investigators?

Later at dinner we discussed it in quiet, hushed tones. Several were visibly shaken by the loss. One can hardly imagine the dreams and nightmares that the students in the one school in the parish - St. Bernard's Unified Parish School - have every night. Speaking of that school, it stood in a lake of water, eight feet high. The event we did would have been under water one week after the hurricane hit.

A kindergarten teacher told her that she has to dissuade her students from digging in the dirt because she is unsure what contaminants the dirt holds. She worries. Yet the spirit of the teachers and the principal was soaring. Whatever it takes. Whatever the conditions, they were going to help the kids.

It may have surrounded by sadness and destruction, but inside those school walls, there was joy, laughter and learning. It was magic. It is an oasis in a desert of despair.

We visited the Lake Pontrachrain Elementary School in Hammond. Hung on walls were signs that read:

School wide expectations

• Be respectful.
• Be responsible.
• Be a problem solver.
• Be safe.

The principal told me that the school of 500 picked up nearly 500 displaced kids from the aftermath of the hurricane, mostly kids at risk. The atmosphere in the school was the same it has been everywhere. There was a sense of hope, of awe, of joy of learning. The kindergarteners were going to have a ‘sleep over’ after school to celebrate Dr. Seuss. They were dressed in their pajamas. So were their teachers.

The teachers were doing what they could, after many of them had lost some or all of what they had. One teacher lost everything on the first floor of her house. But, she told me she hadn't lost her will or desire to help her students learn.

It is emotionally draining – to see the strength of our members, or our teachers and Education Suppport Professionals who are determined to help students learn in very difficult times...”

NEA’s Reading Tour 2006 is the organization’s second action aimed at providing hurricane relief.  In September 2005, immediately following Hurricane Katrina, the Association set up a Hurricane Relief Fund for students, teachers and school employees affected by the hurricane.  In addition, NEA provided $500,000 in direct aid, set up a toll-free helpline for Gulf Coast school employees and created the NEA Adopt a School Program to match donors with schools and classrooms in need of assistance.

For more information about the Reading Tour, Books Across America and NEA’s Read Across America Day activities and events, visit www.nea.org/readacross and www.nea.org/booksacross.

Have you done your part? 

KNEA President Christy Levings has asked each local to donate $1 per member to hurricane relief efforts.  Has your local donated? Ask your local president.  Make sure it gets done.

Or, make a cash donation.  The NEA Foundation is collecting monetary contributions to provide directly to public schools so they can replenish
their materials.

Or, organize a book drive or buy books for school libraries.

Go to www.nea.org/booksacross for details.

The KNEA Bargaining Academy is an intensive program designed to provide the knowledge, skills and experience to more effectively negotiate teacher employment contracts in Kansas.

The application deadline is May 1, 2006.  Click here to apply.  College credit is available.

"While previous bargaining experience and training will be important, we will not overlook enthusiastic newcomers willing to learn," said Wade Anderson, director of KNEA Negotiations and Research. Those who complete the Academy will be expected to contribute to the bargaining efforts in their own local and within KNEA.

The program requires a minimum of 60 hours of classroom instruction and 10 hours of field study.  The classroom instruction includes several bargaining simulations and activities which demonstrate collective bargaining as a conflict resolution tool, Anderson said.  Effective planning and at-the-table techniques will also be simulated.

Topics to be studied include the following:

• Collective bargaining as a conflict resolution tool.
• Alternatives to a negotiated agreement.
• The Kansas Professional Negotiations Act.
• Dilemmas of bargaining.
• Verbal skills and managing emotions.
• Constituency management.
• Bargaining strategies and tactics.
• Popular bargaining models.
• Effective planning/preparation for bargaining.
• Kansas school finance and compensation theory.

Three two-day classroom sessions and two field study events will be scheduled.  The program begins at 9 a.m. June 7 at KNEA Headquarters in Topeka.

For details, contact Wade Anderson .

Tips for Successful Parent Conferences

Communicating with parents is one of the most important things we do as teachers. When we can work together with a child's parents toward common goals, we improve the atmosphere for learning.

Most successful teacher-parent teams begin with a conference, usually one conducted before there is a real need to meet.

Of course, while parent conferences can be one of the most helpful techniques in a teacher's "bag of tricks," we also know that sometimes they can be a discouraging waste of time -- or even turn into ugly confrontations.

Here are some tips to help make your parent conferences productive and successful:

Students meet famous Kansans past and present in celebrating Dr. Seuss’ birthday

Some 18,000 Kansas schoolchildren celebrated Dr. Seuss’ birthday with three Kansas governors: current Governor Kathleen Sebelius, first state Governor of Kansas, Dr. Charles Robinson and the third Governor of Kansas, Samuel J. Crawford.

Kansas NEA celebrated Dr. Seuss’ birthday by inviting famous Kansans, current and past, to read to 110 Topeka  schoolchildren at the Kansas Museum of History. The event was “web cast” by Cox Communications to 18 schools and 18,000 students.

"Architecture, art, commerce, cuisine, customs, geography, history, people... Kansas - It's as big as you think and it's definitely worth reading about," said KNEA President Christy Levings.

During the web cast, Governor Sebelius read Oh, The Places You Will Go to the children and answered questions from kids across Kansas.  Among the questions asked by students from Inman, Ark City, Andover, Larned and Valley Center, were:

• How do you use reading everyday in your job?
• What is your favorite book?
• What is the most interesting fact you’ve learned about Kansas  since becoming governor?
• Do you have to go to college to become a governor? What did you study?

Cox Communications  donated a $1,000 grant to the Lincoln Elementary School library in Iola and a collection of Dr. Seuss books to the Theodor Roosevelt Elementary School in Manhattan. The names were drawn by Gov. Sebelius. 

“Cox Communications is proud to be a part of Kansas NEA’s Read Across America event. No matter how old you are, reading can be fun and exciting. We want to help instill that in children today,” said Kimberly Edmunds, region vice president and general manager for Cox Communications Kansas.

After Gov. Sebelius drew the winners of the Cox Communications grants, the students, from Quincy and McCarter elementary schools in Topeka, were read to by Read Across Kansas Reenactors , all in full costume. Among the reeanctors were 1860’s Kansas Governor Sam and his wife Isabel, Territorial Supreme Court Justice Rush Elmore, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Harriet Beecher Stowe and Civil War reenactors. Most are involved in the Lecompton Reenactors and live in Topeka, Fort Scott, Lawrence, Tecumseh and Lecompton.

In other parts of the state KNEA local affiliates and local schools are working with area museums, chambers of commerce and community groups to promote reading, and especially reading about Kansas.  Thousands of kids and adults from Elkhart to Atchison and St. Francis to Baxter Springs are participating in everything from poetry slams and reader theaters to reading parades and community leader "read-ins." 

"We plan events that show our students that we adults think reading is important…and it’s fun," Levings said. "In honor of Dr. Seuss remember this: You're never too old, too wacky or too wild, to pick up a book and read with a child!"

The local event was sponsored by the Kansas National Education Association in conjunction with Cox Communications and the Kansas State Historical Society.

March 2 marked “Read Across America” Day and Dr. Seuss’ birthday.  “Read Across” is part of an annual literacy campaign by the Kansas NEA that encourages adults “to pick up a book and read with a child.”  Nationwide, millions of students are expected to participate in Read Across America events. For more, go to www.nea.org/readacross .

Return To Top

The Read Across Kansas Reenactors 

When Kansas became a state on January 29, 1861, Dr. Charles Robinson was the first state governor . Originally of Hartwick, Massachusetts, he came to Kansas Territory in 1855 as the leader of a company of settlers sponsored by the New England Emigrant Society.  They founded Lawrence, Kansas Territory, which was the headquarters of the free-state movement, determined to keep slavery out of Kansas.

Howard Duncan is a retired environmental engineer. He is one of the founders of, and a playwrite for, the Lecompton Reenactors. The troupe does about four dozen performances per year.

Mrs. Sara Robinson was the first First Lady of Kansas and wrote a book about the Sunflower State. The property the Robinsons donated to the state is the current site of the University of Kansas.

Diane Bernheimer works for Allstate Insurance in Topeka.

Governor Samuel J. Crawford was the third Governor of the State of Kansas .  Crawford was the youngest man to hold the office of Governor of the State of Kansas, and was the first two term Governor. The Governor's wife is Isabel Marshal Chase Crawford , who at age 18, was the youngest First Lady of the State of Kansas.

                 Dr. Herschel Stroud is a retired Topeka dentist and his wife, Jacqueline Stroud, portrays Crawford’s wife. Jacqueline and Herschel lecture nation-wide on Civil War topics, concentrating on Civil War Medicine.  Herschel was recently appointed by Governor Kathleen Sebelius to the National Governor's Advisory Council to the United States Abraham Lincoln Commission (ALBC).  The first meeting of the Advisory Council was held in Washington, DC, at the Library of Congress.  The nation-wide commemoration will start February 12, 2008, and culminate at the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, DC on February 12, 2009.

Matilda Barber is a young widow whose husband, Thomas, was murdered by proslavery men during the Wakarusa War in 1855.  Thomas became known as the first "martyr" of "Bleeding Kansas" and  Barber County is named for him. His name is one of many names stenciled on the House Chamber in the state capitol.

Cassie "Matilda" Blackwell is a ninth grader at Northern  Hills Middle School. 

Judge Rush Elmore  was appointed as a Justice to the Kansas Territorial Supreme Court by President Pierce. He brought slaves with him when he moved to Kansas from Alabama. The main street in Lecompton was named Elmore Street in his honor. 

Paul Bahnmaier is a retired teacher from Lecompton.

“Union Infantryman” was in the Kansas Volunteer Infantry Home Guard during the Civil War. 

Jack Williamson is a retired Social Studies teacher and is now a KNEA UniServ director.

Kansas U.S. Senator Jim Lane was the leader of the Free State Movement. 

Tim Rues is the curator for Constitution Hall in Lecompton.

Clarina Irene Howard Nichols  campaigned for a woman's right to vote and was an activist, supporting the causes of children, education and families in the Kansas Territory. She published the Chindowan newspaper that advocated the abolishment of slavery.

Michelle Martin is a history instructor at Ft.  Scott Community College.

Frederick Douglass, the famous abolitionist and editor, served as an adviser to President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War and fought for the adoption of constitutional amendments that guaranteed voting rights and other civil liberties for blacks.

Rev. Leo Barbee is pastor at Victory  Bible Church in Lawrence and is the athletic chaplain for the KU basketball and football programs.

Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote a book about slavery called Uncle Tom’s Cabin. 

Bonny Fugett is a retired Lecompton elementary school teacher.

Return To Top

Do you know what PAW means? How about LUWAMH? It’s hard to keep an eye on your kids online when you don’t speak the same language.

Teenangels.org, a division of WiredSafety.org, offers a downloadable chat lingo translator and an updated list of common acronyms used in instant messaging and text messaging. Netlingo.com is another source for the shorthand and acronyms used in online communication.

For more great tips for parents, click here !

KANSAS ENRICHMENT NETWORK NEWS ALERT:
The competition for the 2006-2007 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) is now open! The Request for Applications packet is on the Kansas State Department of Education website under New/Hot Topics.

A free Applicants' Workshop is scheduled on March 9, 2006 from 1-4 p.m. in Wichita for anyone interested in applying. Registration information is included in the application packet.

Grant applications are due May 4, 2006.

Many Gulf  Coast public school libraries were destroyed during the 2005 hurricane season.  Six months following the hurricanes, library shelves remain empty.  Statistics from the American Library Association are startling:

• In Louisiana, more than 150 school libraries were damaged or destroyed.  New Orleans Parish alone lost 63 percent of its 126 schools. 
• Mississippi lost 43 school libraries.  Mississippi ’s Department of Education estimates it will cost more than $32 million to replace libraries and media centers.  It will take approximately $6.1 million to replace media materials including periodicals, trade books and supplies. 
• Texas  library facilities from Beaumont to Orange to Silsbee took a beating.  
• Alabama lost not only about 14,000 valuable books, but also the historic Mose Hudson Tapia Public Library in Bayou La Batre.  The 73-year-old log building took on about six feet of water.  Black mold took over once the water receded.

Books Across America is NEA’s second action aimed at providing hurricane relief.   In September 2005, immediately following Hurricane Katrina, NEA set up a Hurricane Relief Fund for students, teachers and school employees affected by the hurricane.  In addition, NEA provided $500,000 in direct aid, set up a toll-free helpline for Gulf Coast school employees and created the NEA Adopt a School Program to match donors with schools and classrooms in need of assistance. 

The Book Tour

In February the NEA and its partners, The NEA Foundation, First Book, and The Heart of America Foundation®, launched Books Across America — a nationwide initiative to provide new books to public school libraries and students in need. 

A Reading Relief Tour kicked off February 27 and ended in New Orleans  on Read Across America Day, March 2, the birthday of beloved children’s author Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss). New books were delivered to more than 40 public schools in more than 26 cities impacted by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. A host of celebrities and NEA members participated in reading events and delivered new books and money to public school libraries and their students.

“Bringing books back to these schools and students who have lost so much is a top priority for NEA,” said NEA President Reg Weaver. “ We are engaging people nationwide to do everything they can to restock the shelves of public schools in the Gulf  Coast.”

First Book provided every child in each school visited with a new book, while The Heart of America Foundation® donated new library books for all the schools involved in the Reading Relief Tour.   In addition, NEA member schools across the country are being paired with Gulf Coast public schools to help provide new books.  NEA member schools are achieving this through organizing book drives and coordinating fundraisers throughout the year.

Books Across America’s efforts to restock Gulf  Coast public school libraries continue beyond the Reading Relief Tour.  Nearly 45 million individuals nationwide are expected to join the program this year by donating money and new books, fundraising, organizing book drives and volunteering their time to deliver books. 

For more information about NEA’s Books Across America, visit www.nea.org/booksacross.

What you can do:

• Make a cash donation. Don’t forget that KNEA President Christy Levings has asked each local to donate $1 per member to hurricane relief efforts.   Has your local donated? Ask your local president. The NEA Foundation is collecting monetary contributions to provide directly to public schools so they can replenish their materials. Go to www.nea.org  for details.
• Buy books for school libraries. Through First Book, individuals can buy specific books for children to read at home. First Book is also offering several opportunities for volunteers to help get even more books into the hands of children. Go to www.firstbook.org .
• Organize a book drive. The Heart of America Foundation® is spearheading book drives to get books to public school libraries and classrooms.   They are also providing information to volunteers on how to organize their own drives. Visit www.heartofamerica.org .

Governor Kathleen Sebelius and KNEA are urging licensed educators to take the Teacher Working Conditions Survey online.  The deadline is February 26 and the survey can be found at http://www.kansastwc.org.  All KNEA members and non-members are invited to take the survey. For details, see your building representative, your UniServ director or your building principal.

Everyone should have received their invitation from Governor Sebelius to participate in the online survey by now. The goal is to see how teacher working conditions impact student learning conditions. Any building with a participation rate of 50% or more will receive the building results in the spring to help with school improvement efforts!

"Make sure your voice is heard," said KNEA President Christy Levings. "This project is an example of the strong alliances we are building in the education community in Kansas. KNEA's role is to encourage every licensed professional to complete the anonymous survey and to ensure the data is utilized appropriately."

Based on similar regional and statewide projects in North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, Arizona and South Carolina, Kansas NEA is asking every certified public school employee in the state to complete an anonymous survey of conditions that are highly correlated with student achievement and teacher retention.The Center for Teaching Quality conducted the first version of this project in North Carolina in 2002. Carolina's governor (Mike Easley) has used the data to advance policy initiatives and support funding to give schools the tools and resources they need.

The TV cameras are gone. Some of the area schools hit hardest by the hurricanes are finally reopening. The attention of the nation has moved on. But the needs of students, schools, and especially our teaching colleagues, continue.

KNEA President Christy Levings is personally asking every KNEA local association to make a minimum contribution of at least $1.00 per member to the NEA Hurricane Relief efforts.

"Every contribution - large or small - is needed and will make a difference. I am hopeful that all Kansas locals will work to reach this minimum goal," she said. "Every dollar contributed goes directly to help members of our education family. The National Education Association is paying for all the administrative costs of the program."

Levings urged our local affiliate to meet the goal of $1.00 per member to the NEA Hurricane Relief Fund. Make contributions by clicking here or calling the Helpline at 1-866-247-2239. Click here to see the NEA Disaster Relief Fund Honor Roll.

"Thank you for your generosity and your continued support," Levings said.

NEA members make schools work, strong

by KNEA President Christy Levings

In my life I've been called student, wife, mother, grandmother and, for 32 years, "teacher." I became a teacher to make a difference in the lives of children.

A quality public education is critical to democracy and the foundation of economic growth. Every day educators work at preparing students to be responsible, hard-working citizens because all know the role of an educated citizenry in a free, democratic nation.

Educators know we must do our best to help all students and it is hard for us to accept a political agenda that challenges the core belief that America's dreams and promises must be open to all. There are some who believe that the American dream is only for a few; that America's promise is not for those who do not look like them, or worship with them, or speak their language. But in the heart of every educator is the desire to deliver a quality public education for every child.

Kansas NEA strives to make educators successful at work so that students are successful in learning. We are committed to quality public schools, a highly qualified teaching force, and the ability of our members to do the job of serving students. It is our only work because the impact of that work on our state and nation is immeasurable. President Lyndon Johnson said that the fight for freedom occurs as much in the classroom as on the battlefield. NEA members make our schools work each day to keep our nation and its future strong.

When children play at "gossip," the results can be hilarious. When adults spread tales and misinformation, it is seldom fun and the motives are never pure. There are some who use inaccurate "facts and numbers" to discredit the members of NEA. They seek to silence us - to muffle the voice of advocacy for America's public schools and America's children. Their misinformation feeds an agenda of unregulated charter schools and vouchers that strip neighborhood schools of funding. It is an agenda of exclusion; it does not help all students but profits those who press it both politically and financially.

Kansas schools are among the best in the nation. Our citizens will not be misled by those whose agenda is so transparent. I encourage you to thank those who work to make our public education system so strong. Let's all work for the future of Kansas. Let's make this state and our nation ever stronger and more secure by investing in our public schools.

Kansas NEA sponsors "Quest" on Kansas Public Television

The Kansas National Education Association has joined Washburn University in sponsoring a new public television series encouraging academic achievement among Kansas high school students.

The series, "Quest", is produced by KTWU/Channel 11, public television, in Topeka where it is broadcast every Sunday evening at 10:30 p.m. The series will also air on KPTS/Channel 8 in Wichita, where it will be seen on Mondays at 10:00 p.m. The championship match will be broadcast on both stations in Mid-May.

The state's premiere high school academic competition began last December. Eighty-four high school teams from across the state participated in the Washburn University Super Saturday academic competition. The top 16 teams moved on to an appearance on "Quest", which was taped at KTWU/Channel 11 in Topeka in January.

"Too often our high school students are not recognized for their high academic achievement," said KNEA President Christy Levings. "The 'Quest' program highlights the quality of public high schools and showcases real life examples of academic success."

Students compete in four-member teams on the weekly television show "Quest". They are challenged to answer questions in a variety of subject areas including art, literature, history, math and science.

The high school teams competing for the championship in "Quest 2006" include Wichita East High School, Ottawa High School, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School, Blue Valley North High School, Clifton-Clyde High School, Independent High School, Kapaun Mt. Carmel Catholic High School, Lawrence High School, Lawrence Free State High School, Mill Valley High School, Perry-Lecompton High School, Pittsburg High School, Shawnee Heights High School, Topeka West High School, Trinity Catholic High School and Washburn Rural High School.

"We are delighted to have the support of two organizations whose missions are clearly focused on Kansas academic achievement, " said KTWU/Channel 11 General Manager, Eugene Williams. "Their sponsorship provides valuable financial support that is so important to a new program such as this."

Celebrating over 40 years of service to our communities, KTWU has been broadcasting local public television (PBS) in eastern Kansas and portions of Nebraska, Missouri and Oklahoma since 1965. KTWU also broadcasts a digital television signal on digital channel 23.

To enhance your Kansas journeys, check out these links (Thanks to Kansas Explorers Club).

Amazing 100 Miles:
http://www.amazing100miles.com

Flyover People:
http://www.flyoverpeople.net

Kansas Art:
http://www.discoverkansasarts.com
http://www.ku.edu/heritage/artists

I-70 Association:
http://www.visitkansas-i70.com

Kansas Cowboys
http://www.kansascattletowns.com
http://www.droversmercantile.com

Kansas Wildlife & Parks
http://www.kdwp.state.ks.us

Kansas Genealogy
http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb

Kansas on the Net
http://kotn.org

Kansas Photo Tour
http://www.kansasphototour.com

Kansas RV Campgrounds:
http://www.kansasrvparks.org
http://www.ksrvparks.com

Kansas Scenic Byways:
http://www.ksbyways.org

Kansas State Historical Society
http://www.kshs.org

Kansas Travel & Tourism
http://www.travelks.com

Natural Kansas NEA
http://www.naturalkansas.org

Solomon Valley Highway 24 Heritage Alliance
http://hwy24.org

South Central Kansas NEA
http://www.sckstourims.com

Southeast Kansas
http://www.sekinc.org/tourism/attractions.htm

Wild West Country (southwest Kansas)
http://www.wildwestcountry.com

Kansas Sampler Foundation
http://www.kansassampler.org

Proposal by Corkins says anyone can teach – no training necessary! Write your State Board member now!

Education Commissioner Bob Corkins has announced that he is recommending a major change in licensure regulations to the State Board at their February 13 retreat. Please contact State Board members before then and urge them to maintain the current requirements for restricted licenses.

Click here to access email links to the State Board.

The proposed change would remove the requirements that restricted license holders receive an orientation/induction program, have a mentor and by the end of their three-year restricted license complete a program that leads to full licensure.

Mr. Corkins said that he is making the proposal because of teacher shortages in Kansas. No other profession deals with shortages by lowering the requirements for entry into the profession.

Here is the message KNEA members are delivering to State Board of Education members:

Every child deserves a well prepared, caring teacher.

• Teacher quality is vital to student achievement.
• Research shows that ensuring an adequate supply of well-prepared teachers is essential in closing achievement gaps.
• Only well-prepared teachers have the skills to teach every child, from every background.

We need higher standards, not lower ones.

• There is no shortcut to excellence.
• Teaching is far too complex to focus on content only and ignore pedagogy.
• Strong professional preparation programs equip new teachers with the FULL array of skills they need to help students learn.

Research tells us what it takes to make an effective teacher.

• Subject knowledge is important but teachers also need training and supervised teaching experience before entering the classroom.
• Teaching is more than telling -- it's understanding how children learn and finding ways to reach them.

KNEA supports alternate routes to licensure, not “instant teacher” schemes.

• We support alternate routes to licensure that ensure people are fully prepared to teach. Content knowledge is vital, but so is understanding how children learn, how different children learn differently, and how to tailor instruction accordingly.
• Good alternative routes to licensure include help from veteran teachers and hands-on experience.

Click here to access email links to the State Board.

In a flurry of end-of-session votes, the U.S. House and Senate last month approved several education-related matters, including a 1 percent cut in funds for public education, and the creation of a private school voucher program under the guise of hurricane relief. These measures, instead of being voted on openly and honestly on their own merits, were attached to the Defense Appropriations bill. As a result of these actions, total federal education funding will be cut below the previous year for the first time in a decade (by $624 million), funding for the so-called No Child Left Behind Act programs will be slashed by $1 billion below last year, and Title I funding has been cut by $28 million below last year.

"This is public policy at its worst," NEA President Reg Weaver said in a statement. "Today is indeed a sad day for children and students, and a devastating blow to public education." To learn more and to read Weaver’s entire statement, go to the NEA Legislative Action Center.

The 2006 legislative session got under way with the release of the Legislative Post Audit study on school finance and Governor Sebelius' State of the State address.

Depending on which study and which scenario one examines, the Legislative Division of Post Audit's studies call for anywhere from $399 million to $623 million in new spending on K-12 education. The bottom line is that, according to this new study done internally at the order of the Kansas Legislature, Kansas schools remain underfunded.

Talk under the dome is of a multi-year phase in of the additional funding. How many years that would be has not been discussed - at least publicly. Most legislators have determined that this can be done without a tax increase with some Republican leaders mentioning increased revenue due to an improving economy and possible budget cuts in other areas. Also raised was the continuing debate on expanded gaming - a concept long sought by some Democrats, particularly those from Wyandotte County.

The Legislative Post Audit Committee’s Cost Study Analysis provided extensive research and material for the lawmakers in understanding the need for a minimum of nearly 400 million new dollars for our public schools in the 2006-07 school year. The study looked at both an Outcome model and an Input model. The researchers studied school districts and student performance from around the state as well as districts of various student population sizes. This is a massive study and will require time to fully understand all the components of the research. At this time KNEA sees the following components as strengths and needs for further discussion which provides additional evidence of the need for additional funding for Kansas K-12 public schools....

KNEA Leaders and Staff were in attendance for the release of the Legislative Post Audit Committee’s Cost Study Analysis which provides additional evidence of the need for additional funding for Kansas K-12 public schools. The study provided extensive research and material for the Legislature in understanding the need for a minimum of nearly 400 million new dollars for our public schools in the 2006-07 school year. The study looked at both an Outcome model and an Input model. The researchers studied school districts and student performance from around the state as well as districts of various student population sizes. This is a massive study and will require time to fully understand all the components of the research. At this time KNEA sees the following components as strengths and needs for further discussion.

KNEA sees the strengths of the study:

• Both the input and outcome funding approaches resulted in the need for significant additional funds for the public school system.
• In Kansas, over time, a strong association exists between district spending and district achievement outcomes.
• Special education funding was studied and the need to increase funding for special education was identified.
• The need to significantly increase the funding for at-risk students and for students in poverty was recognized.

KNEA saw the following as areas not fully addressed or in need of additional discussion and study:

• Teacher compensation is not addressed in a way that outlines how districts can move Kansas teacher salaries up from a ranking of 42nd in the nation.
• The area of Vocational Funding needs to be further explored. The need to provide students who do not attend colleges and universities the skills for 21st century jobs requires further study.
• Transportation funding needs to reexamined, specifically state policies to address the needs of urban districts and for unsafe and heavily trafficked areas.
• Further discussion is needed to insure the stability of declining enrollment districts.

“Kansas NEA believes that we must continue to raise standards and meet the needs of all Kansas students," said KNEA President Christy Levings. "Our priorities must be to close all achievement gaps as well as to continue to advance the achievement level of our future citizens. That means developing a long term school funding plan in Kansas that will provide our schools with consistent and stable funding must be a priority. The long term plan must recognize that as we continue to move forward the necessary resources must be available to our schools."

"Kansas NEA challenges the Kansas Legislature to step up to the plate and fund our schools in a way that does not jeopardize the future economic growth of our state and the future success of our children,” Levings said.

KNEA President, Christy Levings stated, “Kansas NEA believes that we must continue to raise standards and meet the needs of all Kansas students. It must be a priority to close all achievement gaps as well as to continue to advance the achievement level of our future citizens. It must be a priority to develop a long term school funding plan in Kansas that will provide our schools with consistent and stable funding. The long term plan must recognize that as we continue to move forward the necessary resources must be available to our schools. Kansas NEA challenges the Kansas Legislature to step up to the plate and fund our schools in a way that does not jeopardize the future economic growth of our state and the future success of our children.”

An Executive Summary of the Post-Audit Study can be found online at: http://kslegislature.org/postaudit/