WestEd in the Media

Music to the Ears of Children in Foster Care

Mike Tharp column

Merced Sun-Star — January 28, 2012

Life in foster care can be chaotic for children and youth. Even if the school they happen to be attending in any particular month or week offers special activities, they may not be able to attend. So it's especially heartening when community members like Merced Symphony conductor Henrik Jul Hansen go out of their way to enrich the lives of children in the foster care system.

This article describes special musical and music appreciation activities Hansen shares with youth.

"Music can affect how they think and how they live their lives," Hansen says. "It enriches the quality of their lives."

This article quotes information from a recent WestEd Policy Perspectives paper on the need to research education solutions specifically to help children and youth in foster care.

WestEd and Students First Partner to Host Town Hall Meetings Across California

Q&A: Education Reformer Michelle Rhee and Mayor Bring 'Listening Tour' to Sacramento

Sacramento Bee — January 25, 2012

One California celebrity couple are turning their star power on education, with WestEd's help.

Michelle Rhee, former schools chancellor in Washington DC, is the founder of StudentsFirst, a national education advocacy group based in Sacramento. StudentsFirst boasts more than one million members, including 150,000 in California.

Rhee is married to Kevin Johnson, former all-star basketball player and current mayor of Sacramento. Johnson is also a member of the California Mayors Education Roundtable, a WestEd Initiative. The California Mayors Education Roundtable helps mayors and school district staff work collaboratively toward an effective, community approach to education, with a focus on dropout prevention.

Together, StudentsFirst and the mayors are hosting town-hall style meetings in Fresno, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, and San Jose. The main goal of the meetings is to gather public input about the current state and direction of public education.

Orland Notes the Second Generation of the Charter School Movement

Ariz. Shifts Focus to Holding Charter Schools Accountable

The Republic — January 16, 2012

In 1994, the state of Arizona approved a broad law authorizing charter schools that did not cap the number of charters that could open. Today, Arizona's 515 charter schools enroll 11 percent of all students and represent 25 percent of all public K-12 schools.

The state is now acknowledging the reality that not all of the state's charters are game-changing, or even average, schools.

"They haven't moved the needle," says Martin Orland, WestEd Director of Evaluation and Policy Research. "Those who honestly believe in charter schools and their potential have faced up to that."

Charters are now facing closer scrutiny, tighter requirements for contract renewal, probation, and even closure.

As Orland notes in this article, the shift represents a second generation of charter-school policy that increases the focus on quality and standards.

WestEd Board Member David Berliner Recognized for Public Impact

The 2012 RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Presence Rankings

Education Week — January 4, 2012

David Berliner, WestEd Board of Directors member, was recently recognized as among the university-based academics making the most substantial contributions to public debate about schools and schooling.

Education Week blogger Rick Hess listed Berliner 18th (out of 121 academics) in his "Edu-Scholar Public Presence Rankings." In his blog, Hess explained, "The rankings offer a useful, if imperfect, gauge of the public impact edu-scholars had in 2011, factoring in both long-term and shorter-term contributions."

Berliner is Regents' Professor of Education Emeritus at Arizona State University, and a member of both the National Academy of Education and the International Academy of Education. He has written more than 200 published articles, technical reports, book chapters, and books, including coauthoring two WestEd Policy Perspectives papers:

• What Research Says About Unequal Funding for Schools in America
• What Research Says about Small Classes and Their Effects

He is past president of the American Educational Research Association and the Division of Educational Psychology of the American Psychological Association.

New Report Shines Light on Principals

New WestEd Report Highlights Strain on California Principals

Mercury News — December 13, 2011

In California, public school principals — a key cadre in school reform and improvement efforts — work 60 hours a week on average. Half have been a principal less than five years.

These statistics and others from a new report show the strain on these school leaders during this time of declining funding and increasing requirements.

The 13th annual edition of The Status of the Teaching Profession, from the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning at WestEd, draws on the survey responses of more than 600 principals across California.

Challenges on the horizon, such as implementing the Common Core curriculum and adapting to expected revisions in federal education law, will likely increase the demands on principals.

Principal Magazine Touts Ease of Doing What Works at WestEd

A Ticket For Success

November/December 2011

What principal wouldn't want a free ticket to school improvement?

That's how Principal magazine summed up Doing What Works (DWW), a project that WestEd leads for the U.S. Department of Education.

The DWW home page clearly states the mission: translate research-based practices into practical tools to improve classroom instruction.

While DWW draws on the vast resources of the Institute of Education Sciences at the Department of Education, the website is designed so that applicable knowledge and practices are only a few clicks away.

WestEd-Issued Report Identifies Best Practices to Ensure Students Stay in School and Graduate

Study Looks at Strategies to Help Middle School Students Transition to High School and Graduation

Lake County News — December 5, 2011

Sometimes students trip up when they move from middle school to high school. A new report from the California Comprehensive Center at WestEd identifies ways to ease the transition.

WestEd partnered with American Institutes for Research to produce Making the Move: Transition Strategies at California Schools with High Graduation Rates. The report focuses on practices at high schools that have higher graduation rates than were statistically predicted for certain subgroups of students.

Many of the best practices focus on school culture and climate, such as helping students feel connected to school, having a strong counseling program, and enabling collaboration among teachers.

Linquanti Assesses Selection of Just One Consortium for New English-Language Proficiency Tests

Questions Arise Over Grants for ELL Tests

Education Week — November 15, 2011

Earlier this fall, two consortia of states applied for federal grants to develop the next generation of English-language proficiency (ELP) tests. Only the 28-state consortium led by the state of Wisconsin won a $10.5 million grant.

Robert Linquanti, Senior Research Associate at WestEd, thinks it's regrettable that the 15-state consortium led by the state of California did not receive a grant. As quoted in this article, Linquanti believes that having more colleagues and more competition involved would benefit English language learners. He was proposed as an advisor to both consortia.

Creating these tests is significant. This article goes on to point out that English language learners number more than 5 million nationwide and are the fastest-growing student subgroup in the nation.

REL West Joins Utah Partnership to Reduce Dropout Rate

Urban Education Leaders Tackle Problem of High School Dropout Rate

The Salt Lake Tribune — November 14, 2011

Ten percent of Utah's class of 2010 dropped out of high school. Among Latino students, the state's largest minority group, 26 percent of the class left school.

The Regional Educational Laboratory West (REL West), operated by WestEd, has joined forces with the Utah State Office of Education and the National Dropout Prevention Center to reduce the dropout rate in the state.

As this article acknowledges, there's no single reason high school students drop out. With this in mind, Utah is taking several approaches to address this issue:

• The National Dropout Prevention Center will provide assistance to five Utah high schools starting this year. Over the next few years, state leaders hope to expand the program to 30 high schools.
• The Utah State Office of Education formed a statewide advisory committee to explore further ways to reduce dropout rates.

CPEI at WestEd Helps Hawaii Examine Special Education

Report Raises Questions About Hawaii's Special Education System

Honolulu Star Advertiser — November 14, 2011

Hawaii seems like a paradise to many people, but it can be a confusing place for special education students and their families.

Dona Meinders, Project Director for the Center for Prevention and Early Intervention (CPEI) at WestEd, recently compiled a report for the state of Hawaii that examines its special education system. The state wants to find ways to improve services and boost achievement for special education students.

According to this article, parents find the organizational structures and roles related to special education confusing. Big variations exist from one school to the next in the type of staffing and services offered to special education students.

Mangione Weighs In on Kids and Digital Media

Perceptions Mixed on Kids and Digital Media

California Watch — October 31, 2011

According to a new report from the Sesame Workshop, more than half of parents with children ages 3 through 10 say that digital media poses a threat to child safety and privacy. Of those same parents, only 18 percent believe their own children spend too much time with digital media.

"I would not want a child spending half their free time on digital media," says Peter Mangione, Co-Director of the Center for Child & Family Studies at WestEd, in this California Watch article.

Children gain significant cognitive and emotional benefits from direct engagement with parents, peers, and groups, says Mangione. The solitary nature of interacting with most digital media reduces the chances for direct engagement. However, digital media can become a more enriching experience; for example, parents can make screen time into family time by watching TV or playing video games with their children.

New Report Documents Lack of Science Instruction in California Elementary Schools

Study: Science Pushed Out of California Elementary Schools

San Jose Mercury News — October 25, 2011

For a state that claims dozens of Nobel Prize winners and some of the greatest research universities in the world, California spends very little time teaching science to elementary school students.

The new WestEd report, High Hopes—Few Opportunities: The Status of Elementary Science Education in California, finds that 40 percent of California elementary teachers spend 60 minutes or less on science instruction each week.

In the survey, a majority of districts did not have district-level staff dedicated to science instruction. A majority of elementary teachers reported receiving no professional development in science in the last three years. The emphasis on English and math in school accountability dominates instruction time.

"By the end of the day, there's very little time left for any other subject, science included," says Holly Jacobson, Director of the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning at WestEd, which commissioned the study.

WestEd's Lally Joins Pre-K Debates

October 1, 2011

By definition, readying children for school must start before the first day of kindergarten classes. But how, and how soon, should we start preparing children?

The Pre–K Debates: Current Controversies and Issues contains a synthesis of the major themes of the pre-K debate and lessons learned from two model programs. Also included are key issues for future research and debate, including education policies for English language learners and children with special needs.

J. Ronald Lally, Co-Director of the Center for Child & Family Studies at WestEd, contributed a key chapter on the link between consistent caring interactions with babies, early brain development, and school readiness.

One-Shot Deal a National Phenomenon

How the Other Half Test

Washington Monthly — September 2011

WestEd's Andrea Venezia and her team found that the transition from high school to community college for many California students is a "one-shot deal." They have one chance to do it right, and often they feel uninformed about what's at stake or how to prepare.

This Washington Monthly article shows how the one-shot deal doesn't apply just to California. Students across the country are encountering the same lack of information and preparation, and suffering the same consequences.

Many students are finding that they could have better prepared themselves while in high school — if only they had access to the admission requirements and performance expectations of community colleges. While applying to community colleges, students find themselves forced to take placement tests without warning or preparation. Poor performance on those tests lands students in remedial classes that cost valuable time and money but don't award any college credits.

Reading Apprenticeship® Helps Renton Technical College Become a Leader

23 Achieving the Dream Institutions Earn Leader College Distinction

Achieving the Dream — September 28, 2011

During the last three years, the WestEd Reading Apprenticeship program has helped Renton Technical College (RTC) increase the number of students who have earned a certificate or degree or are still enrolled by more than 20%.

For raising graduation rates, closing achievement gaps, and changing lives, RTC has been named a Leader College by Achieving the Dream.

Achieving the Dream, Inc., is a national nonprofit that helps community college students stay in school and earn a college certificate or degree.

RTC, based in Renton, WA, has been incorporating Reading Apprenticeship in a number of programs and departments since a team of faculty members attended a Leadership Institute for Reading Apprenticeship in 2008.

Reading Apprenticeship, a research-based framework, supports middle and high school, and community college students to develop positive literacy identities and engage with challenging academic texts. Funding from the U.S. Department of Education is supporting a five-year effort, known as RAISE, to increase implementation of Reading Apprenticeship in high school content area classes serving over 400,000 students in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana, and Utah.