24 Jan 2012

Governor Quinn Signs Law to Overhaul School Performance Reporting

By Nafia Khan

New School Report Cards to Help Parents and Communities
Measure Performance

 

CHICAGO - January 24, 2012. As part of his ongoing commitment to reform education in Illinois, Governor Pat Quinn today signed legislation that will give parents and communities more information about their schools' performance than ever before. The new law makes changes to school report cards, and report cards for school districts, in an effort to continue improving the state's primary and secondary education system. This law was the result of ongoing work by the Governor's P-20 Council, which was formed in 2009 to work with teachers, administrators and other stakeholders to improve education in Illinois.

 

"Every child in Illinois deserves access to a good, well-rounded education and we want every parent to know how their child's school is performing," Governor Quinn said. "Empowering parents and communities with this information increases accountability in our schools and allows us to better judge what works and what can be done better."

 

Sponsored by Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia (D-Aurora) and Sen. Kimberly Lightford (D-Maywood), House Bill 605 makes changes to the report cards submitted to parents, the Governor, the General Assembly and the State Board of Education starting in the 2013-2014 school year for elementary, middle and high schools statewide. The new cards will help the state better evaluate the success of schools, programs and districts by allowing comparisons between similar schools across the state, as well as current and past outcomes and progress.

 

The revamped report cards will include :

 

  • School characteristics and student demographics (school enrollment; racial and ethnic background; # of low income students; per pupil expenditure)
  • Curriculum information (availability of AP classes; availability of foreign language classes; school personnel resources; dual credit enrollment)
  • Student outcomes (percentage of students meeting and exceeding state standards; graduation rates; percentage of college-ready students)

 

  • Student progress (number of students entering kindergarten ready to learn; student growth measures; percentage of students entering high school on track for college or career)

 

  • School environment (teacher and principal retention; percentage of students and teachers with fewer than 10 absences; measures of school learning climate)

 

"Every child in Illinois, regardless of background or ethnicity, deserves an effective education," P-20 Council Chairman Miguel Del Valle said. "Knowing how schools serve students and their communities is key to understanding how we improve our education system as a whole."

 

"The first step towards improving our schools is knowing where we stand," Rep. Chapa LaVia said. "Giving parents, teachers, administrators and lawmakers the information they need to make decisions about the future of our children is the responsible thing to do for our communities and our education system."

 

"Parents have a right to know how their child's school is performing," Sen. Lightford said. "The new report card is important from both an informational and a transparency standpoint, and will allow us to track vital information about student progress and determine what policies and practices are working and how we can do better. It's an essential tool for parents and educators alike."

 

HB605, which passed the General Assembly unanimously, follows historic education reform Governor Quinn signed into law last year, which facilitated longer school days and stronger standards for teachers. The new cards (example attached) are a result of collaboration between the Governor's P-20 Council, the Illinois Federation of Teachers, school districts, state lawmakers and education advocacy groups from across the state.

 

The new law goes into effect immediately.

 

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24 Jan 2012

Grant Will Help Close Achievement Gap

By Whitney Smith-Bringolf

Last year, due to grant funding, the Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency (AEA) was able to pilot technology which enhanced language to hearing impaired students. The pilot was such a success the Mississippi Bend AEA has decided to expand this technology to all preschool aged identified hearing impaired students (ages 1-6) who have hearing aids or cochlear implants. A grant in the amount of $14,256, from the Scott County Regional Authority, will help do this. The grant will assist seven deaf and hard of hearing students at home and in the classroom - helping to close the achievement gap between them and normal hearing students.  This grant in combination with last year's grant and additional department funds will reach a total of 19 deaf and hard of hearing students with FM technology.

When hearing impaired students are fitted with either hearing aids or cochlear implants, they typically do not have access to additional technology to support their hearing needs. Parents usually cannot afford to purchase this equipment and educational institutions do not allow this technology to leave the buildings. The Mississippi Bend AEA will use the grant money to purchase equipment to be used in connection with hearing aids and cochlear implants, which will increase their access to devices such as; computers, cell phones, iPods/iPads and other technology which normal hearing students do not have difficulty with.  Most classrooms have background noise that competes with the teacher or device (i.e. others talking, paper shuffling, other electronics, ventilation systems, outside traffic or construction, and hallway noise). This background noise can make hearing very challenging for people with hearing aids or cochlear implants. The technology being purchased will allow sound to be transmitted directly to the hearing aid or cochlear implant so the background noise is less prominent.

Introduction of language is critical in the early preschool years and is the key to all academic success. Without the technology to access language, preschools and parents are constantly playing catch up with their deaf and hard of hearing children. Having the opportunity to expand this project will forever change the lives of these young children.

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The Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency is one of nine AEAs across the state of Iowa created by the 1974 Iowa Legislature. It provides educational services, media services and special education services to approximately 50,000 students in twenty-two public school districts and twenty-two approved non-public schools in Cedar, Clinton, Jackson, Louisa, Muscatine and Scott Counties.

The Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, gender identity, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, socio economic status, or disability in its educational programs, services or employment practices. Inquiries concerning this statement should be addressed to Dr. Edward Gronlund, Equity Coordinator, at 563-344-6315.

24 Jan 2012

Local Students Named to Dean's List at Creighton University

By readMedia

OMAHA, NEB.- (01/23/2012)(readMedia)-- The following students from your area were named to the fall Dean's List at Creighton University for the fall semester of the 2011-2012 academic year.

Nathan Horst of Blairstown, a sophomore College of Arts and Sciences student

Michael Barnes of Bettendorf, a junior College of Arts and Sciences student

Adam Dilla of Bettendorf, a sophomore College of Arts and Sciences student

Emily Stensrud of Bettendorf, a third year School of Pharmacy and Health Professions student

Elizabeth Hines of Davenport, a sophomore College of Arts and Sciences student

Alexandria Clark of Rock Island, a sophomore College of Arts and Sciences student

John Philibert of Rock Island, a junior College of Arts and Sciences student

Kailee Steger of Milan, a sophomore College of Arts and Sciences student

Full-time students who earn a 3.5 grade-point average or better on a 4.0 scale are eligible for the Dean's Honor Roll.

About Creighton University: Creighton University, a Catholic, Jesuit institution located in Omaha, Neb., enrolls more than 4,200 undergraduate and 3,500 professional school and graduate students. Nationally recognized for providing a balanced educational experience, the University offers a rigorous academic agenda with a broad range of disciplines, providing undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs that emphasize educating the whole person: academically, socially and spiritually. Creighton has been a top-ranked Midwestern university in the college edition of U.S. News & World Report magazine for more than 20 years. For more information, visit our website at: www.creighton.edu.

23 Jan 2012

Michael Herman makes fall Dean's List

By Brett Eaton

WINSTON SALEM, NC (01/23/2012)(readMedia)-- Michael Herman a resident of Davenport, IA, was among over 1800 students from Wake Forest University who made the Fall Dean's List.

About Wake Forest University

Founded in 1834, Wake Forest University is a top-25 university located in Winston-Salem, NC. Wake Forest combines the best tradition of a small liberal arts college with the resources of a national research university. For more information, contact the Wake Forest Office of Communications and External Relations at 336-758-5237.

23 Jan 2012

IMSA Receives Highest Ranking in World Contest; Mathematical Model Addresses Maintenance of International Space Station

By Brenda Sotern

AURORA-- One team from the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy® (IMSA) received the highest ranking possible in the 14th annual international High School Mathematical Contest in Modeling (HiMCM). Their performance placed IMSA among the top seven schools in the world in this year's competition.

The IMSA team of Henry Deng of DeKalb, Matt Gietl of Batavia, Andrew Ta of Naperville and Matt Yang of Hanover Park received the rank of "National Outstanding."

Only seven teams out of 435 that competed worldwide received this ranking.  In addition, two other IMSA teams received the rank of "Regional Outstanding."  Students on these teams included Webster Guan of Lisle, Aditya Karan of Naperville, Nilesh Kavthekar of Naperville, Peter Lu of Lisle, Nolan Maloney of Naperville, Abhinav Reddy of Naperville, Nishith Reddy of Naperville and Stanley Yuan of Naperville.

Although international studies generally place the United States in the middle of the pack compared to other countries, IMSA President Dr. Max McGee noted that IMSA's students have proven to be among the best in the world, in international competitions.

"For the seventh consecutive year, IMSA's math teams have received the highest ranking possible in this international event showcasing how mathematics can be used to solve some of the world's most challenging scientific, economic and social problems," McGee said. "IMSA students and coaches, both past and present, are to be commended for this amazing achievement."

The High School Mathematical Contest in Modeling is a 36-hour contest where each team is expected to solve a mathematical modeling problem. Each team then prepares and submits a paper discussing their solution to the problem.

IMSA's "National Outstanding" team had to develop a comprehensive 10-year plan including costs, payloads, and flight schedules to maintain the International Space Station.

Outstanding teams will have their solution papers (or their solution abstracts) published in COMAP's Consortium newsletter among other places. More information on the contest can be found at http://www.comap.com/highschool/contests/himcm/.

The internationally recognized Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy® (IMSA) develops creative, ethical leaders in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. As a teaching and learning laboratory created by the State of Illinois, IMSA enrolls academically talented Illinois students (grades 10-12) in its advanced, residential college preparatory program, and it serves thousands of educators and students in Illinois and beyond through innovative instructional programs that foster imagination and inquiry. IMSA also advances education through research, groundbreaking ventures and strategic partnerships. (www.imsa.edu)

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23 Jan 2012

The bottom line: States demanding proof public school teachers are effective in the classroom

By By Ben Velderman
BATON ROUGE, La. - Last month, the Louisiana state officials approved a plan to evaluate K-12 classroom teachers based on student performance. This marks a significant rethinking of how a teacher's performance is assessed.
Louisiana's outgoing evaluation process gives almost all teachers favorable reviews, which doesn't jibe with the dismal results produced by the state's public education system. A 2011 federal report finds only 22 percent of Louisiana's students perform at "proficient" levels.
Fifty percent of the new evaluation process, which takes effect next school year, will be based on "growth in student achievement," reports the Associated Press. Louisiana's educators will be rated as highly effective, effective, or ineffective.
Any teacher rated as ineffective "will be placed in an intensive assistance program and then must be formally evaluated," reports the National Council on Teacher Quality, a nonpartisan organization that promotes education reform.
Teachers that continually fail to demonstrate improvement over two years could be fired.
The plan hasn't taken effect yet, but Louisiana's teacher unions have condemned the change as "a flawed idea" and a "fiasco" that will create a generation of "demoralized teachers."
Such union hysterics can also be heard in Oklahoma and Ohio, two other states that will soon switch to teacher evaluation models that incorporate evidence of student learning.
Louisiana, Ohio and Oklahoma are part of the growing trend toward injecting more accountability into public education. Parents and taxpayers in 23 states have passed laws requiring that teachers be evaluated based - at least partly - on whether or not they are getting the job done in the classroom.
Sandi Jacobs, vice president of the National Council on Teacher Quality, believes several more states could join the list of reformers in 2012.
"I suspect there are some states that are poised to move in (early 2012)," Jacobs told EAG, citing Connecticut, New Mexico, and New Jersey as possible contenders.
"There's a growing realization that the old way of evaluating teachers is really dysfunctional," she said. "There was a lot of activity about teacher evaluations in 2011.The states saw that this is not a taboo topic anymore."
Big changes in two years
As recently as 2009, only four states linked student learning to a teacher's performance. Many schools determined a teacher's effectiveness based on little more than the occasional classroom observation and the level of college degree he or she had.
Union collective bargaining agreements often complicated matters by stipulating rules that made honest assessments of teacher performance difficult, if not impossible.
Some stipulate that classroom observations must be done on schedule, so teachers can be ready to put forward their best effort on that day. 

Some contracts say administrators cannot use video equipment to observe teachers without their knowledge, as if it's somehow unfair to watch a teacher at work, doing what they generally do when they don't think administrators are watching.
A lot has changed in two years. In addition to D.C. public schools, 17 of the 23 states that link student learning to teacher evaluations do so in a significant way, according to the NCTQ report.
The states that make student achievement a major part of teacher evaluations include : Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island and Tennessee, as well as D.C. public schools.
Eleven New Jersey school districts have begun implementing a pilot program that could lead to teacher tenure and pay being linked to student outcomes, reports NJSpotlight.com.
But the teacher unions still wield considerable power in all three states - Connecticut, New Mexico and New Jersey - that are close to making evaluation changes, making success far from a sure thing.
Paul Gessing, president of the Rio Grande Foundation, said that while teacher evaluation reform will be on the agenda when New Mexico's legislators convene for the upcoming 30-day session, it'll be "a tall order to get it done."
"New Mexico is resistant to any reform, even though we're 49th in almost everything, including graduation rates," Gessing told EAG.
Gessing said the state legislature is controlled by Democrats, who are mostly controlled by the teacher unions. As a result, "Everything here happens at a snail's pace," he said.
Obama's 'Race to the Top' credited for new reforms
In its recent "State of the States" report, the NCTQ writes that tying student learning to teacher performance  "marks an important shift in thinking about teacher quality" - away from teacher qualifications and toward "their effectiveness in the classroom and the results they get with students."
NCTQ credits President Obama's Race to the Top initiative for motivating states to rethink the evaluation process.
"The 2010 federal Race to the Top (RTTT) competition spurred unprecedented action among states to secure a share of $4 billion," the report reads. To qualify for federal funds, states had to devise in-depth plans for improving their K-12 systems, many of which included new teacher evaluation systems at least partially based on student test scores.
The federal government is currently offering another reform incentive to states. States can apply for waivers from No Child Left Behind benchmarks in exchange for reform commitments, including how teachers are evaluated.
That's happening in the Kentucky legislature, which seems likely to approve a bill that would standardize how teachers are evaluated throughout the state.
The bill's sponsor, State Rep. Carl Rollins, a Democrat, said he supports basing 30 percent of a teacher's evaluation on student achievement.
Unions support changes?
With the public generally supportive of accountability-based teacher evaluations, the nation's two largest teacher unions are eager to be seen as cooperative.
"Sadly ... we once again hear this myth about the union standing in the way of performance," wrote Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, in a recent letter to the New York Times.
Weingarten urged lawmakers to find a way "to fairly evaluate" teachers.
Last summer, delegates to the National Education Association's annual convention voted to adopt a new policy that acknowledges student performance a legitimate part of the evaluation process.
"What it says is, now we are willing to get into that arena," NEA President Dennis Van Roekel said. "Before, we weren't."
But look past the agreeable rhetoric and it's clear that the unions don't believe it's possible to incorporate student achievement into evaluations in a fair or scientifically valid way.
"We believe that there are no tests ready to do that," Segun Eubanks, the director of teacher quality for the NEA, told the New York Times.
Bottom line: The national teacher unions support performance-based teacher evaluations in theory, but not in practice.
The unions' double-talk may not matter, in the end. Lawmakers in both parties seem committed to these reforms, and this trend seems destined to keep growing.
23 Jan 2012

GREENVILLE COLLEGE FALL HONORS LIST

By Greenville College

Ansley Jo DeVrieze, a junior Biology major and the daughter of Jay & Stephanie DeVrieze of Moline, and Lisa Marie Kistner, a GSR in Elementary Education and the daughter of Dale & Marianne Kistner,also of Moline, were among the of 284 students from Greenville College who qualified for honors at the conclusion of the fall semester.

To qualify for the Dean's List, freshmen are required to maintain a 3.5 grade point average (4.0 scale). Sophomores, juniors and seniors must have a 3.7 GPA. A College Scholar is a student who has made the Dean's List for three or more consecutive semesters.

Greenville College is a four-year Christian liberal arts school located in Greenville, IL., with over 1600 traditional, adult and graduate students. Founded in 1892, it is affiliated with the Free Methodist Church. For further information please visit www.greenville.edu.

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23 Jan 2012

Grassley: Iowa Students Earn Admission to West Point and Naval Academy

By Grassley Press

WASHINGTON - Senator Chuck Grassley said today that Aloysius Richard TeKippe of Earlham has been selected for admission to the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York, and Matt Truninger of Clinton has been selected for admission to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, for the 2012-2013 school year.

TeKipee will graduate in May from Earlham High School.  He is the son of Krista and Ron TeKippe.  Truninger graduated in 2009 from Northeast Middle/High School in Goose Lake.  He is the son of Gina and Mark Truninger.

"Admission to the service academies is highly competitive and a great honor," Grassley said.  "Young people like Aloysius TeKippe and Matt Truninger work very hard to earn this kind of opportunity, and I join many others, no doubt, in wishing them well and expressing appreciation for their commitment to serving our nation."

TeKippe and Truninger were among the Iowans Grassley nominated this year for  appointments.  Information about seeking a nomination is posted at http://grassley.senate.gov/info/academy_nominations.cfm.

For more than 200 years, the U.S. service academies have educated and trained the best and the brightest to lead and command the U.S. armed forces.

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23 Jan 2012

UW-MADISON FALL DEAN'S LIST

By John Lucas

The University of Wisconsin-Madison has recognized students named to the Dean's List for the fall semester of the 2011-2012 academic year.
Students who achieve at a high level academically are recognized by the dean at the close of each semester. To be eligible for the Dean's List, students must complete a minimum of 12 graded degree credits in that semester. Each university school or college sets its own GPA requirements for students to be eligible to receive the honor.

To view an online listing, visit http://registrar.wisc.edu/deans_list.htm. For questions or concerns about eligibility, please contact deanslist-registrar@em.wisc.edu.

Here are the students from your circulation area who have received this honor:

Michelle Kathryn Czarnecki, Bettendorf, IA, College of Letters and Science, Dean's List

Adam Samuel Vesole, Bettendorf, IA, College of Letters and Science, Dean's List

Meghan Elizabeth Khoury, Davenport, IA, School of Human Ecology, Dean's Honor List

Mehmet Gultekin Badur, Moline, IL, College of Engineering, Dean's Honor List; Brennan Lynn Price, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, Dean's List

Andrew James Hoogerwerf, Rock Island, IL, College of Engineering, Dean's Honor List.

23 Jan 2012

Davenport Native Kara Bartels Named to Augustana College's Dean's List

By Kelly Sprecher

SIOUX FALLS, SD (01/19/2012)(readMedia)-- Augustana College today announced that Kara Bartels, of Davenport, IA, has been named to the Dean's List for the Fall semester of the 2011-2012 academic year.

The Dean's List recognizes full-time students who have a minimum of 10 credit hours with grade-point averages at 3.5 or above.

About Augustana

Founded in 1860, Augustana College in Sioux Falls, S.D., is a selective, residential, comprehensive college of the Lutheran Church. Committed to enriching lives and fostering development, Augustana combines a foundation in the liberal arts with professional skill and advanced study, leading the Templeton Guide to include the College among those that inspire students to lead ethical and civic-minded lives. With more than 1,850 students from 25 states and 30 countries, Augustana is featured among "America's Top Colleges" by Forbes; was ranked among the top 10 baccalaureate colleges in the nation for its efforts to advance social mobility, research and service by Washington Monthly; has been named a "Best Midwestern College" by The Princeton Review; and is identified in Peterson's "440 Great Colleges for Great Students."

Augustana celebrated its sesquicentennial during the 2010-2011 academic year.

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