Current events 2

Framework Crafted for Student Use of Mobile Devices 

School districts are struggling with the risks and benefits of increased use of cell phones, media players, and tablet computing devices. The Center for Education Policy and Law based out of San Diego last month issued a collection of documents on what it calls “electronic communication devices” or ECD’s. This was a project that was conceived when a university staff member’s child became a victim of cyberbullying. It includes a six-page model district policy that outlines proper and improper use of the devices, as well as sample short (two-page) and long (four-page) student-use agreements. It also included documents to help educators understand the culture of electronic device use in which many of today’s student’s live as well as legal privacy and free speech concerns schools face when policies regarding mobile devices is enforced. Researcher Frank Kemerer, a professor-in-residence at the University of San Diego said “The trend is in the direction of helping teachers and students incorporate electronic communication devices.” The student agreements clearly state what qualifies as a mobile device, what behaviors constitute misuse, when schools have a right to intervene, and what consequences schools may reinforce. ECD was criticized for not outlining basic issues, “you need to recognize (the danger of devices in school) outweighs the benefits, other than anything you are doing to forward the educational process” said Perry Aftab, the executive director of the Fort Lee, N.J.-based online watchdog group. “I think you’re dealing with risk management more than class management, and we need to set out the rules so kids know that ahead of time”. Barbara-Jane Paris a principal in Texas, sits on the board of directors at the Reston,Va.-based National Association of Secondary School Principals praised Kemerer for understanding what this looks like on a daily basis in education. She had testified this summer alongside Ms. Aftab at a Capitol Hill hearing on cyber bullying. Elliot Soloway a professor at the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor, a leading advocate of learning with mobile devices praised this report for giving new clout to push to use mobile devices as learning tools. “Schools are going to have some ambiguity and are going to have to make some decisions. Superintendents, principals, and teachers all need to step up and take a position”.

After reading this article a principal should look into the two student-use agreements and create similar agreements to cater the needs of their school, keeping in mind the mobile devices used. These agreements (probably the short one) need to be included in the students’ rights and responsibilities handbook. Further the students should be required to sign this agreement in the first week of school. This will insure that they have been made aware of the policy and their signature is proof that they have agreed to the terms of the policy. This agreement should also be posted on the school website for parents and students to be reminded of the consequences of misuse of mobile devices. A handout of the stated agreement should be either sent out through email, or distributed as a hard copy at the beginning of the new semester, to once again remind the parents and students.

Quillen, I. (2010). Framework crafted for student use of mobile devices. Education week, Retrieved from http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/11/10/11devices.h30.html?tkn=SYTFHFZPzEo

Current Events

The article that I chose from the Educational Leadership publications is titled Got Opportunity? This article is based on a survey given by the Aspirations Research Center at The Quaglia Institute For Student Aspirations (QISA). This survey was offered between 2006-2010 to students in 627 schools across the United  States. QISA surveyed 456,021 students in grades 6-12. The results obtained gave a clear signal that both student achievement and student opportunity are connected to the kinds of expectations, relationships and chances for participation that students perceive they have in school. The survey revealed that this opportunity gap faced by the students had three elements: the expectation gap, the relationships gap, and the participation gap.                                                                                               

The Expectations Gap:   There are two kinds of expectation gaps, one that is the differing expectations that teachers hold for individual students. Less than one-third of teachers believe schools should expect all students to meet high academic standards and graduate with the skills for college-level work (Bridgeland, Dilulio, & Balfanz, 2009).  And the other is the difference between the students expectation of themselves and what they perceive to be their teachers opinion of their potential. Although 91 percent of students surveyed agreed with the statement "I believe I can be successful," only 70 percent agreed that "Teachers think I can be successful." In other words, slightly more than one-fourth of students did not think their teachers expected them to succeed in school. Comparing students' responses on the survey sheds further light. Students who agreed with the statement, "Teachers believe I can be successful" reported remarkably different school attitudes than did students who disagreed with this statement. For example, 75 percent of students who believed teachers expected them to succeed also agreed that tests were an important part of their education. Correspondingly, many students who felt that teachers did not believe they could be successful also did not believe tests were important. Because tests are one measure of student achievement, communicating the importance of assessments to all learners is essential if we are to narrow the achievement gap. Students' beliefs about  the importance of grades affects their achievement. Teacher expectations affect more than just the classes students choose: Expectations may well affect students' beliefs in the importance of day-to-day academic requirements like studying for tests or striving for good grades.

The Relationships Gap :Looking closer at students' perspectives has shown us that strong relationships with teachers are crucial. The quality of teacher relationships seems to be correlated to how much effort students put forth in their school work, and indeed, research indicates that effort is more important than innate ability when it comes to achievement (Dweck, 2006). As both the number of standardized tests and the stakes related to passing them increase, student effort must keep pace. Our survey results imply that building relationships with students helps increase their effort, which is consistent with research showing that the relationships students have with teachers is one of the best predictors of hard work and engagement in school (Osterman, 2000).Another telling survey finding was that 56 percent of students who reported that they put forth their best effort also said they have a teacher they can talk with if they experience a problem, whereas only 32 percent of the students who did not put forth their best effort agreed with this statement. Sadly, some survey results indicated that many students lack a solid, trusting relationship with a teacher. For example, only 45 percent of students surveyed agreed that "Teachers care if I am absent from school." How is it that more than half of the almost 500,000 students surveyed do not believe teachers care if they show up? Teachers must work harder to develop relationships with students and change these kinds of perceptions. Doing so will foster students' connectedness at school—an undeniable catalyst for increasing students' investment in learning. Schools can—and should—implement practices that lead to strong teacher–student relationships.

The Participation Gap:  By the participation gap, we mean the gulf in opportunity and advantage between those few students who are actively engaged in their classes and the life of the school and the many others who are not. Students must be enthusiastic if they're going to learn at high levels; learning should be an adventure rather than a chore. Our survey results reflect how urgent it is to change features of the typical school environment that contribute to the participation gap. Only 64 percent of survey respondents said they learn new, interesting things in school. Only 54 percent said they enjoy participating in their classes, and fewer than 49 percent enjoy being at school. Nearly half (47 percent) agreed with the statement, "School is boring." How can this be acceptable? To close achievement gaps, schools must cultivate an atmosphere that connects students meaningfully to their learning—one that leads young people to learn content that's relevant for them, encourages them to ask questions, and puts them at ease in taking risks. Equally alarming are students' perceptions of their connection to school. Only 62 percent of students surveyed agreed that "School is a welcoming and friendly place," only 49 percent said that "I am proud of my school," and only 48 percent believed "Teachers care about me as an individual." It seems challenging, if not impossible, for students to fully participate in their educational pursuits if they aren't proud to be at school and don't feel cared about. Schools that pay attention to eye-opening statistics like these realize that students living in our knowledge-rich society learn differently than they did in past decades when knowledge was harder to obtain. They engage their students through relevance, application, and leadership opportunities.

As educators begin to pay attention to these gaps that are all too evident in schools, opportunities will emerge for students to achieve. Although we can't ignore the effects of race and income on the achievement gap, in our research and our work in schools we see that achievement is significantly related to the expectations, relationships, and engagement students either enjoy or do not enjoy every day. The good news is that educators who want to improve student achievement can begin today by minding all the gaps.

A principal after reading this article will have a very true perception of where the problem lies, and would have to set high standards for their staff to make changes in their expectations and interactions with the students. Once the expectation is conveyed to the staff, the principal would need to monitor the progress by speaking to random students to see if there is any change in the school climate. These survey results should be an eye opener for any teacher to want to make changes in their interactions with their students. The principal could keep this discussion alive by encouraging teachers to share the changes they have made in their expectations and what changes have they noticed in their students. Teachers love to be appreciated and recognized for their effort by their peers and superiors. This will be a chain effect that will encourage other teachers to share their success stories. The 10 practices to close the gap shared in this publication has suggestions that are easy and effective. They should be distributed to the staff and the principal should consistently use this tool to monitor the progress in every classroom. A regular walk through the corridors and a peep in the classrooms should reflect all these gaps closing and student achievement moving up.

10 Practices to Close the Gaps To close the expectations gap Show students you believe they can be successful by using a "here's how to do better next time" approach when you need to correct work. Let students know what they're doing well. Share with each student individually what you expect from him or her. Hold students accountable for their actions. Encourage students to share success stories with one another. To close the relationships gap Follow up on absent students. Let them know it's because you care about them, not just to chase down missing work. Invite students to brown-bag lunches in your room. Promising homemade cookies helps! Survey students about their personal, social, and academic goals at the beginning of each term. To close the participation gap Involve all students in school leadership initiatives by using student surveys and fostering dialogue about important issues. Show you value students' opinions. Create a classroom atmosphere that welcomes participation. Ask open-ended questions and set a "There are no stupid questions" policy. Develop after-school opportunities focused on the interests of students who shun traditional activities.

Quaglia, R., Fox, K., & Corso, M. (2010). Got opportunity. Educational Leadership, 68(3), 4. 

Principal Interview, Round 2

I interviewed our assistant principal and asked her the two most challenging issues she dealt with regards to special education or with student 504's. With regard to IEP's she expressed her concern regarding teacher compliance with modifications/accomodations. She felt that this had to be constantly monitored and enforced by administration.  Regarding 504's the challenge was often parents requested 504's in an attempt to gain testing accomodations for the EOG purely on the basis that the child experiences test anxiety. She felt that they were looking for seperate settings most of the time. Most of the time the student's condition did not warrant the changes and it would give the child an unfair advantage over the classmates

Supreme Court Case - special ed, June 2009

After T.A. attended public school from kindergarten until the spring of his junior year, his parents removed him and placed him in private school. Although T.A. "experienced difficulty paying attention in class," depended on extensive help from his family to complete his schoolwork, and was evaluated by the school district for a disability, he never received special education services while enrolled in public school. When school staff members evaluated T.A. during internal meetings that did not involve his parents, they considered the possibility that T.A. had Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD. Instead of testing him for ADHD, however, T.A. was formally evaluated for a learning disability, and the school's psychologists and educational specialists unanimously concluded that he had no such disability. Accordingly, the school psychologist's report indicated that T.A. was not eligible for special education services under the IDEA, though he may have been eligible for accommodations under § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The school district never followed up on either the suggestion that T.A. had ADHD or that he might be eligible for § 504 accommodations.  When T.A. continued to experience difficulty in school, his mother contacted school administrators multiple times expressing her concerns and proposing that the school reevaluate him.  The school district told T.A.'s mother that a subsequent evaluation would not likely find T.A. eligible for special education services.  The district offered no other assistance. T.A. continued to fall behind in school and, in 2002, he began using marijuana and "exhibit[ing] noticeable personality changes."  In 2003, T.A. ran away from home and ultimately ended up in a hospital emergency room.  His parents then hired a psychologist, who "diagnosed T.A. with ADHD, depression, math disorder, and cannabis abuse."  Upon the psychologist's advice, in March of 2003 T.A.'s parents removed him from public school and ultimately enrolled him in Mount Bachelor Academy, a private school intended for students with special needs.  Four days after placing T.A. in private school, his parents obtained a lawyer who advised them to request a hearing under the IDEA and to seek an order commanding the school to evaluate T.A. for disabilities.  The team of specialists assembled to evaluate T.A. "acknowledged T.A.'s learning difficulties, his diagnosis of ADHD, and his depression," but nonetheless concluded that T.A. did not qualify for special education services under the IDEA "because those diagnoses did not have a severe effect on T.A.'s educational performance." Following the school district's evaluation, an administrative hearing officer concluded that T.A. "was disabled and therefore eligible for special education under the IDEA and [§] 504."  The hearing officer further concluded that the school district had failed to provide T.A. a free appropriate public education, and accordingly was required to reimburse T.A.'s parents for sending him to Mount Bachelor, which cost $5,200 per month. ("Lessons learned from," 2009) The issue in the Forest Grove case was whether a 1997 amendment to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (or IDEA) prohibited private-school tuition reimbursement for students who never received special-education services in public school. The amendment says tuition may be available for students with disabilities “who previously received special-education” services in public school, if the school did not make a free and appropriate public education (or FAPE) available in a timely manner. Forest Grove, backed by school-boards associations across the country, argued that the amendment precluded reimbursement for those, like T. A., who never received special-education services in public school. But the high court, in a 6-to-3 ruling, rejected that argument. “We conclude that IDEA authorizes reimbursement for the cost of private special education services when a school district fails to provide a FAPE and the private school placement is appropriate, regardless of whether the child previously received special education or related services through the public school,” Justice John Paul Stevens wrote in the majority opinion. Justice Stevens said the school district’s interpretation would produce a result “bordering on the irrational.” “It would be strange for the act to provide a remedy, as all agree it does, where a school district offers a child inadequate special-education services but to leave parents without relief in the more egregious situation in which the school district unreasonably denies a child access to such services altogether,” he wrote. He was joined by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Anthony M. Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen G. Breyer and Samuel A. Alito Jr.In his dissent, Justice David H. Souter, joined by Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, said that the disabilities law was designed to promote cooperation between school districts and families in developing an individualized education plan for each disabled student. The dissent also discussed the high costs of private-school placements. “Special education can be immensely expensive, amounting to tens of billions of dollars annually and as much as 20 percent of public schools’ general operating budgets,” Justice Souter wrote. “Given the burden of private school placement, it makes good sense to require parents to try to devise a satisfactory alternative within the public schools.”(Lewin, 2009)   

I support the Supreme Court decision and agree with Justice Stevens, as I strongly feel that the school district did not do their best to help T.A. They did not include the parents in their meetings; they did not share the fact that they suspected ADHD with the parents. The Special Ed teachers are the professionals who can sense issues that a student may have versus a parent who is distressed with his child’s inability to be successful. If this information was shared, the parents may have requested an ADHD evaluation from their doctor, and all this turmoil in T.A’s life could have been avoided. As stated above the mother contacted the school administrators multiple times expressing her concerns and proposing that the school revaluate him. T.A. continued o fall behind in school and eventually went downhill. When the district offered no assistance the mother had no choice but to make a decision that she thought was best for her child. It is imperative that an administrator takes active interest in special-Ed cases to avoid any similar situations. The administrator has to be aware of all the facts and make sure that there is good communication between the professionals at the school and the parent. Special Ed teacher’s commitment to helping the students should be foremost and their goal should be to ensure success for each student. Ron Hager, senior staff attorney at the National Disability Rights Network, describes five areas of concern that parents should keep in mind in light of the ruling:

Know Your Rights "School districts have an obligation to locate and evaluate children to determine if they do have a disability," Hager says. "The IDEA law envisions that the parents are equal participants with the school district in developing the child's program, but parents frequently don't know what their rights are.”

Get Involved "School districts have an obligation to ensure that children with disabilities receive an appropriate education based on their individual needs," Hager says. "It's not one size fits all. The parents should be looking at, 'Are my child's needs being met?'

Question the Evaluation "The other thing that's critical for parents to know is when the school has done its evaluations, if the parents disagree with the results of those evaluations, they have the right to an independent evaluation at the district's expense," Hager says.

Be Wary of Narrow Criteria "The other thing that happens ... is that the school districts have an overly narrow view of what the criteria are for special-education eligibility," Hager says. "Frequently, with a child with ADHD, they'll look at whether the child is doing well academically.”

Don't Wait to Take It to Court "Parents should appeal right away," Hager says. "Don't wait for four years. But many parents do, because they're frustrated, they don't know, or they assume the school is telling them the right thing. (Miners, 2009)

Under the IDEA, a school district is not liable for the cost of private special education services if it affords a child a free appropriate public education.  Accordingly, the simplest and cheapest way for school districts to avoid the cost of private school tuition reimbursement is by providing children in need of special education services with a free appropriate education in the first place.  However, if school districts fail to do so, parents must be able to turn to effective administrative and judicial procedures to ensure that their child ultimately receives the education that the IDEA guarantees. ("Lessons learned from," 2009)

Bibliographic Citations:

 Lessons learned from forest grove school district v. t.a.. (2009). [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.law.northwestern.edu/lawreview/colloquy/2009/

 Lewin, T.. (2009). Court affirms reimbursement for special education. [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/23/education/23special.html

Miners, Z.. (2009). Court ruling helps special-needs students. [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.usnews.com/blogs/on-education/2009/06/24/court-rulinghelps-special-needs

Video Assignment

After watching all the thought provoking videos I was extremely inspired by the fact that so many people are doing the right thing....of promoting a good culture among the students and inspiring them to learn in a innovative way so they move from being knowledgeable to knowledge-able. Each of the videos had a powerful message but the ones that really stirred me were the following-

• A VISION OF STUDENTS TODAY - Mike Wesch has done a tremendous favor to us educators by promoting his students to compile all this interesting data for us to read again and again, till we realize how crucial it is for us to bring some change in our ways of teaching.I would be scared for our students future and feel compelled as an educator to bring about the change. As an administrator watching this video would result in a lot of discussion among my staff as to where we are going wrong and how can we change some of these percentages.The data shared in this video would be shared with parents too on a Parent Ed night to educate them as to what our students are experiencing today. Together we would have to share the burden of promoting a better culture. The teachers would have to start educating themselves with the new tools available for them to entice the students to learn.
• A VISION OF K-12 STUDENTS- This video would truly inspire teachers to use technology for higher level thinking. This would be a great follow up video for an administrator to share and  further stress the importance of teaching the students to think,create, analyze,evaluate and apply, thus teaching them to think. As an administrator I would promote offering professional development courses to the staff to introduce them to the innovative uses of technology. Teachers would be expected to allow students to create, consume, remix and share information with each other.
• 21st CENTURY LEARNING- This video was en eye opener for me as it made me wonder if I was a digital immigrant or a digital native. I do know for a fact that by the end of this Masters program I will definitely be a Digital native (thanks to my professors). As an administrator this would be the next question posed to the staff  " Are you a digital immigrant or a digital native". Their answers would decide their future path. They will all be required to change their instructional strategies to meet the needs of the digital learners, and make learning more fun and relevant to them. The ideas of increasing the speed of instruction, and to include multi tasking and networking promoting brain research to impact teaching would be strongly enforced and the progress would be regularly monitored.

I strongly feel that practicing what is addressed in these three videos would make a school ready to face the 21st century. Time is running out so as an administrators it is imperative that these topics are first and foremost in the educators mind at all times, and they work hard to change their styles and approach to teaching the text.  Rich Baranuik said in his video " the 21st century is going to demand that we liberate the textbook pages and open them so they can be modified, changed and improved by the second". I agree with Sir Ken Robinson that we need to get serious about the second climate crisis, not of natural resources but human resources. He and Jamie Oliver further believe that we have sold ourselves to a fast food model of education and it is impoverishing our spirits and energies as much as fast food is depleting our physical bodies. We have to keep in mind that our students world now demands new skills and we have to continuously ask ourselves the questions 'are we teaching them those skills?' 'would our school be ready to welcome the 21st century'?

As I was extremely impressed by Sir Ken Robinson, I found a video that expressed to us how we need to open up our minds and be creative and explain what is creativity. This video should help educators understand the importance of letting go of set ideas, learning styles and methods and to search within ourselves on how we can change our outlook by having confidence in our creativity.The link to the video is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63NTB7oObtw&feature=related

Bullying

Bullying is on the rise as stated in all the videos, and our society as a whole is more violent because of the disrespect we show towards each other. This is an issue that our society has to deal with in collabration with students, teachers, administrators and PARENTS. The parents have to play the important role in their child's life loving and encouraging them to not only feel good about themself , but to have the strength to make good choices. As a parent our job does not end as soon as our child enters a school community. That is actually when the work starts to help the child build their self confidence. A parents acceptance of a child is crucial for their ability to fit in the school.  As they enter school it is of utmost importance that each student has a sense of belonging and see their school as a safe place for them to learn. The school community as a whole is responsible for each student in the building on and off campus. As stated in the bullying video education is a right and privelage that shouldn't be taken away from anyone. I firmly believe that bullying needs to be tackled at all fronts-home , school, church, society. This issue should be handled and solutions should be sought by all of us as responsible citizens. We all are on the same team and just play different roles in a childs life thus we all need to  share the responsibilty of bringing up well balanced, confident and happy children. For an administrator it is imperative that there be a bullying policy that is ENFORCED, as the principal is just not a gatekeeper but a facilitator. Everything that goes in and around the school is the responsibility of the principal. The idea of making the students feel that they are a integral part of the solution is priceless. As stated in the safe school ambassador video, the students do hold the key, and as ambassadors they can have an extremely positive impact on the school climate.
Other social issues that can be dealt by schools are creating an awareness of accepting students irrespective of their socio economic background ,and their nationality. Respecting each student, celebrating their culture and their heritage, recognising their strengths, accepting their weaknesses and helping them acheive their goals can be achieved by peer mentoring.