News Clips – Sept. 30 – Oct. 13, 2006

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STATE  
Joe Fatheree Illinois Teacher of the Year/ Effingham Daily News
Junk food ban approved for Illinois elementary, middle schools/ Associated Press
Governor Establishes Parent Leadership Council / WIRF-TV, Rockford
Following delays, new company gets contract for achievement tests / Associated Press
Chicago teachers union sues to stop public funding of virtual school / Associated Press
Class rank could harm some, college officials say/ Springfield State Journal-Register
Mattoon administrators debate No Child Left Behind/ Journal Gazette/Times-Courier
GUEST EDITORIAL: Sounding the alarm on the school dropout crisis/ Chicago Defender
$25,000 award to city teacher/ Chicago Sun-Times
Glen Ellyn teacher's surprise national award/ Daily Herald
State schools not required to drill for shootings/ Lee News Service

NATIONAL
Like Mom says: No TV on school nights / Associated Press
Happy birthday! Have some carrots / Los Angeles Times
Harassment in schools is 'universal' / Portland Herald News (ME)
10 myths about school shootings / MSNBC.com
Plan calls for lottery to assist schools / Knoxville News Sentinel (TN)
Clinton Deal Cuts School Snack Foods / Associated Press
State-paid full-day kindergarten among group's goals/ Associated Press
Bush administration hopes idea-sharing will quell school violence/ Associated Press
Mich. OKs evolution curriculum/ Associated Press
When skipping school is a malady, not misbehavior/ Chicago Tribune
They're All Federal Educators Now / The Evening Bulletin (PA)

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STATE
 
Joe Fatheree Illinois Teacher of the Year
Kim Wiedman, Effingham Daily News
 
Effingham — Known for his rapport with students, his instructional leadership and his commitment to teaching students the importance of community involvement, local teacher Joe Fatheree will also now be known for something else — the 2006-07 Illinois Teacher of the Year.
 
At the 32nd annual Those Who Excel banquet held Saturday in Decatur, Fatheree, one of 10 finalists, was named Illinois Teacher of the Year. The field of 10 had been pared down earlier in the year from nearly 160 nominees for the educator recognition program through the Illinois State Board of Education.
 
“I guess I was shocked. ... I was just flattered,” said Fatheree recalling his thoughts when his name was announced. “You stand there with so many other great teachers. You look at each and every one of them and think each should have the recognition.”
 
After student teaching at Effingham High School and teaching for a year in another school district, Fatheree returned to EHS. During his 17 years at Effingham High School, he has served as an English teacher, a history teacher, and in most recent years, a technology teacher, which includes a film production class and a Web design class.
 
Fatheree also is involved in projects outside the classroom, including starting the No Barriers Project, which was designed to help students understand how extreme poverty impacts student success. Through the program aimed at helping students become successful citizens, Fatheree and his students have collected more than 2,500 coats for homeless children and over 4,000 books to disenfranchised children. The group also formed a partnership with a school in East St. Louis.
His success as an educator doesn’t come without the support of the district’s administrative team and staff, which Fatheree said allows him to teach the students about how the curriculum ties into life.
 
“I feel the classes I have really do give students an opportunity to look outside the walls of Effingham High School, to touch the real world and to get an understanding of how curriculum ties into the things they will do in the future,” said Fatheree, adding the support he receives from the district is tremendous.
 
Principal Mike McCollum, who nominated Fatheree for the award, said Fatheree is an educator and instructional leader, adding he has participated in several “noteworthy” programs and projects in the district.
 
“He is just a tremendous guy. His rapport with the kids, teachers and community is really second to none,” said McCollum. “He has gone beyond the call of duty and has done a lot of things.”
McCollum added Fatheree has a unique ability to teach all levels of students.
 
“He goes out of his way to recruit students of varied learning abilities for his program. He has a way of bringing out the best qualities in all his students and helps them to do the same for other students,” said McCollum.
 
“He seems to challenge each and every kid in their own way,” he added.
 
To show their support for Fatheree, several administrators and teachers joined Fatheree at the banquet and cheered when his name was announced.
 
“We felt very confident in his qualifications that he was a very viable candidate for that, but when you hear the announcement, it is pretty exciting,” said McCollum.
 
Superintendent Dan Clasby said the group of finalists was a competitive group, but he too felt Fatheree was “very, very deserving” of the recognition.
 
“He does so many things in our district, and we all felt very strongly that he would be a strong contender,” said Clasby, adding it is great recognition for Fatheree and the district.
 
Having the support of the administration, his fellow teachers and his friends was “the best part of the night,” according to Fatheree.
“To look out in the crowd and to know you have the support of your colleagues, that meant a lot to me to have them there,” he said.
 
Fatheree said their presence at the event is just another example of how members of the district work together as a combined unit.
 
As Illinois Teacher of the Year, Fatheree will spend the spring semester speaking at teacher workshops, educational conferences and civic and community meetings. He also will receive a lifetime tuition waiver to state universities and one semester paid leave to pursue coursework or develop an educational project that will benefit students statewide.
 
He now is up for National Teacher of the Year, which will be announced next spring at a banquet at the White House.
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Junk food ban approved for Illinois elementary, middle schools
Megan Reichgott, Associated Press
 
CHICAGO - A legislative committee approved a plan Tuesday to ban the sale of junk food in Illinois' elementary and middle schools.
 
The Joint Committee on Administrative Rules voted 8-4 for the ban on soda, chips and candy in vending machines, reversing a 10-1 vote in April that had temporarily halted the push against junk food.
 
"This was a long hard fight," Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who pushed for the ban, said in a statement. "We met plenty of resistance along the way, but ultimately members of the administrative rules committee did the right thing by joining us and voting to take junk food out of our schools."
 
State Sen. Steve Rauschenberger, R-Elgin, was one of four Republican committee members who voted against the ban. He said the vote was rushed through in time for next month's election.
 
"For some reason they have ants in their pants; it may have to do with a Tuesday in November and that's not the way to make public policy," Rauschenberger said. "The problem is our kids aren't eating right. Simple bans ... that make politicians look good don't solve the nutrition problem."

Meanwhile, school administrators said the ban was overly restrictive and would be difficult to implement.
 
"We strongly opposed this ban all the way through the process. We're a little disappointed today," said Ben Schwarm, spokesman for the Illinois Statewide School Management Alliance. "This should not be dictated from the state, locally elected school boards should be making these decisions."
 
Existing Illinois State Board of Education rules already prohibited the sale of junk food in elementary schools during breakfast and lunch. Soon junk food will be banned during the entire school day _ including from vending machines _ for students in kindergarten through 8th grade, although certain districts can request an exemption for the 2006-2007 school year.
 
The ban will take effect once ISBE files the proper paperwork, ISBE spokeswoman Meta Minton said.
 
Nuts, seeds, fruits, non-fried vegetables or low-fat yogurt products would be allowed, but food in which calories from fat exceeds 35 percent would be barred.
 
The rules for drinks allow whole, 2 percent, low-fat or nonfat milk or alternative dairy beverages like soy or rice milk. Approved items also include water and drinks that contain 50 percent or more fruit or vegetable juice.
 
The rules only apply to food that is sold to students at school. Children can still bring snacks from home, Minton said.
 
ISBE approved the new rules in March before submitting them to the Joint Committee, a bipartisan panel that reviews proposed changes in state rules and regulations.
 
"We are pleased to see the new junk food rules moving forward, because we know that a healthy diet contributes to the learning readiness and well-being of the children of Illinois," ISBE Chairman Jesse Ruiz said.
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Governor Establishes Parent Leadership Council
WIFR-TV, Rockford/Freeport
 
CHICAGO – Governor Rod R. Blagojevich today signed an executive order creating the Illinois Parent Leadership Council to advise the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) on encouraging parental involvement in children’s education. Research shows that children with involved parents have higher rates of success in many aspects of their education including higher test scores and grades, better attendance, improved social skills, and elevated rates of graduation. As part of the Governor’s 2006 education plan, the Parent Leadership Council is an intricate part of an overall strategy to continue reforming and improving schools.
 
Earlier this week, the Appleseed Foundation published a report that found a continuing lack of parental engagement. The study found that schools and districts do not prioritize parental involvement and that it is important for schools and parents to communicate on issues affecting student achievement.
 
In addition to leading Illinois parents, the Council will determine the best practices for parent involvement and advise ISBE on resources and materials needed to implement them statewide. The Council will also submit an annual report to the Office of the Governor including their findings and recommendations.
 
Earlier this year the Governor signed Senate Bill 10 (Public Act 94-0507), sponsored by Senator Miguel del Valle, and created the Parental Participation Pilot Project and Project Fund. The current fiscal year budget includes a $100,000 appropriation for ISBE to offer grants to schools for their efforts to improve parental participation.

Building on the work of the previous four budgets and legislative sessions, which saw more than $3.8 billion in new funds invested in Illinois schools, the creation of universal preschool in Illinois, and raising graduation standards to require students to take more reading, writing, math and science, Governor Rod Blagojevich’s 2006 education plan includes the follow initiatives:
 
- Implementing full day kindergarten and universal preschool;
- Funding new school construction;
- Helping school districts regularly replace outdated textbooks;
- Extending the school year for underachieving schools;
- Funding after-school tutoring for students that need extra help;
- Helping schools afford special education teachers;
- Encouraging school district consolidation;
- Offering mentoring programs for principals and superintendents;
- Helping schools afford new technology;
- Improving school libraries;
- Updating Career and Technical Education curriculums; and
- Reducing school district administrative costs.
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Following delays, new company gets contract for achievement tests
Tara Burghart, Associated Press
 
CHICAGO  - A new company was awarded a nearly $33 million contract Wednesday to handle the printing and delivery of standardized tests in Illinois schools, but the company blamed for major delays this year will still be a part of the process.
 
Meanwhile, the Illinois State Board of Education said that school districts are missing the results from a different standardized exam, taken by high school juniors, and likely won't receive them this month.
 
Both tests were run this year by Texas-based Harcourt Assessment Inc.
 
Harcourt forced many school districts to delay the Illinois Standards Achievement Test _ given to third- through eighth-graders _ after the company sent the wrong materials or delivered tests late.
 
The ISAT helps determine whether schools are meeting the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind law, which carries sanctions for low-performing schools. The results also help schools develop or change curriculum.
 
The contract the state education board approved Wednesday calls for Iowa-based Pearson Educational Measurement to print, distribute and retrieve the ISAT. It will also prepare the assessment results for students and schools.
 
The $32.9 million Pearson contract applies to the testing cycle for spring 2007 through September 2009. But state officials said the company will face financial penalties if anything goes wrong.
 
Harcourt will still be used to develop the questions for the ISAT. ISBE officials rejected any suggestion that Harcourt was being rewarded for unsatisfactory work _ saying Harcourt developed a fine test.
 
"It did give us a good read on the achievement of kids, it was well received around the state," schools Superintendent Randy Dunn said during a teleconference. "We wanted to be able to maintain the work that they did well, and that was test development. The stuff they were not able to do (will be handled by Pearson)."
 
Harcourt agreed to pay the state damages. After applying those damages and taking into account Harcourt's reduced role in ISAT testing, it will be paid $3.5 million instead of $13.5 million for fiscal year 2007, according to the ISBE. Its contract for fiscal year 2008 will be reduced to $3.9 million from $12.7 million.
 
Harcourt's chief executive officer, Michael Hansen, said in a statement Wednesday that the company was happy to keep working with the ISBE.
 
"Our company is committed to continuing to provide Illinois public schools with test development services of the very highest quality," he said.

Last month, ISBE awarded the contract for similar administrative services for the Prairie State Achievement Exam to Iowa-based ACT, the same not-for-profit organization that administers the college entrance exam. The Prairie State test is given to high school juniors.
 
All Illinois school districts have received the results of the ISAT, according to ISBE spokesman Meta Minton. Normally received in June, they reached districts after the start of the school year, she said.
 
But the results of the Prairie State exam have still not been delivered to districts, which would usually have them by now.
 
Ginger Reynolds, the board's assistant superintendent for teaching and learning, said Harcourt is having trouble maneuvering the massive amounts of data.
 
ISBE officials would not give a date for when they hope to have the Prairie State exam scores to school districts but said it would not likely be by an Oct. 31 deadline.
 
Harcourt spokesman Russell Schweiss said several factors led to unanticipated delays in processing the exam, including what he said was incorrect student demographic information and a time consuming process for manual data verification.
 
"We are working with ISBE to correct the demographic data," he said in an e-mail. "It is clearly in the best interest of all parties involved that this data be accurate."
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Chicago teachers union sues to stop public funding of virtual school
Associated Press
 
CHICAGO - Lawyers for the Chicago Teachers Union filed a lawsuit Wednesday seeking to withdraw public money for the state's first online public school, claiming it doesn't qualify for the funds under Illinois law.
 
The lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court argues that the Chicago Virtual Charter School, which opened last month despite stiff union opposition, amounts to home-schooling and so doesn't meet the criteria for public funding.
 
The lawsuit - which names as defendants the online school, the Illinois State Board of Education, Chicago Public Schools and several state officials - asks the court to order various bodies to stop disbursing government money to the school.
 
"This school clearly violates the Illinois School Code as a home based charter school," the teachers union president, Marilyn Stewart, said in a statement Wednesday. Stewart has criticized the school earlier as experimental and of unproven value.
 
A spokesman for CPS, the nation's third-largest school district, rejected the home-schooling claim.
 
"The state's board of education disagreed with that argument and said there is a solid curriculum for these students and that it is not home schooling," Michael Vaughn said. The state board approved the online school by a narrow 5-4 vote in August.
 
Chicago Public Schools launched the school under its Renaissance 2010 program, which closes the lowest-performing elementary and high schools and replaces them with 100 new schools free from many district controls.
 
According to its charter, the online school can enroll up to 600 students, and the school district will reimburse it with up to $7,000 per pupil. When it opened last month, the school said it expected about 350 pupils to enroll this year.
 
Kindergarten-through-eighth-graders log on to the school's Web site each weekday for five hours. The students who cannot or prefer not to go to conventional schools get a mix of print and multimedia materials for classes ranging from math to history.
 
Teachers review the students' work and give feedback. Chicago's program is considered unique because it has a center located downtown for student/teacher meetings. Students are required to go to the building at least one day a week.
 
Proponents have said the online programs are a good alternative for students who are homebound, have been expelled, or who have trouble learning in traditional classes with 25 to 30 students.
 
Such virtual schools have grown in popularity across the country, with about 147 schools serving 65,000 students in 18 states.
 
A statement Wednesday night from ISBE spokeswoman Meta Minton defended the online school, though she said the state board hadn't yet had a chance to review the lawsuit.
 
"This school offers an alternative teaching and learning setting where educators use technology to create an interactive educational environment," she said, adding that approval of the school followed input from educators, parents and community leaders.
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Class rank could harm some, college officials say
Debra Landis, Springfield State Journal-Register
 
CHATHAM - No longer ranking students has the potential to hurt as many as it might help, three college admissions officials told a forum audience at Glenwood High School Thursday evening.
 
The Ball-Chatham School District is considering the possibility of dropping class rank on high school academic transcripts or simply providing letters to students that indicate their class rank.
 
Some members of the Ball-Chatham Board of Education and some parents have suggested it's possible for students to be strong academically but denied admission to the college of their choice because they aren't in the top 25 percent to 50 percent of their class because of a high number of other academically talented students.
 
Just 19 percent of private schools nationally still rank students, compared with 85 percent of public schools, a survey by the National Association for College Admission Counseling found.
 
Admissions officials from Illinois Wesleyan University, the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and Illinois State University spoke at the forum in the GHS auditorium.
 
Tony Bankston, dean of admissions at Wesleyan, said it's difficult to say what the impact of a change in policy might be, but, "You probably hurt as many as you help."
 
Added ISU associate director of admissions Stacy Ramsey: "You might hurt one student but not the other."
 
If class rank isn't provided on admissions applications, the three university officials said their institutions will figure it anyway.

"It's pretty difficult to get into the University of Illinois if you're not in the top 25 percent (of your high school graduating class)," said Stacey Kostell, director of undergraduate admissions, adding that the school can "figure it pretty close" using a student's grade point average and other data.
 
ISU also will determine a student's class rank if it's not provided, figuring a student with a 3.5 GPA or better is in the top 25 percent of a class, while a student with a GPA of 3.0 to 3.4 is in the top 50 percent, according to Ramsey.
 
Without class-rank information, Wesleyan will estimate it based on the student's GPA and those of other applicants from the same high school, Bankston said.
 
When reviewing applications, the admissions officials said they'll consider grades as well as the rigor of classes taken. They noted, for example, that a "B" in an accelerated college preparatory course may say more about a student's potential for success than an "A" in a less rigorous course.
 
The more than 50 parents, faculty, staff and students who attended Thursday's forum were asked to fill out forms indicating what they think the school board should do.
 
Depending on the feedback, it is possible another forum could be held before the board takes up the discussion, School Superintendent Rich Voltz said.
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Mattoon administrators debate No Child Left Behind
Nathaniel West, Journal-Gazette & Times-Courier
 
MATTOON -- Utter the four magical words “No Child Left Behind” in front of most teachers or administrators in the Mattoon school district, and you can expect varying degrees of snarls, frowns, guffaws and sighs.
 
It is such a touchy subject, in fact, that it dominated the conversation during a report on standardized test scores at Tuesday’s school board meeting.
 
In short, the No Child Left Behind Act continues to baffle Mattoon school administrators, who conceded that for all of the headaches the program has caused, it has helped improve education as well.
 
Even so, administrators expect NCLB to undergo some serious tweaking when federal lawmakers consider revisions over the next few years.
 
“There are too many of us who will be in trouble before 2014” when NCLB requires that all students must meet or exceed testing standards, said Susan Smith, district curriculum director.
 
“I can’t believe that (NCLB) won’t be massaged in some way.”
 
Administrators are particularly frustrated that NCLB is comprised mainly of “unfunded mandates” -- costly improvements that fall to state and local governments to fund.
 
“It’s the privatization of public education,” said Assistant Superintendent David Skocy. “People need to look 10 years down the road and really question, ‘Is this what’s best for kids?’”
 
Superintendent Larry Lilly pointed out that, despite all of the federal NCLB requirements, only 10 percent of the Mattoon school district’s funding comes from federal sources.
 
“The devil is in the details,” said Lilly.
 
Assistant Superintendent for Business Tom Sherman added, “This is a high-priced underfunded mandate.”
 
However, administrators acknowledged NCLB has produced some positive results.
 
“I do believe it is a fabulous incentive,” Smith said. “Wonderful things are happening, and we’re focusing our attention on children and communicating with each other. (That) might not have necessarily occurred without No Child Left Behind.”
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GUEST EDITORIAL: Sounding the alarm on the school dropout crisis
Chicago Defender
 
One of the most disturbing signs in public education is the slow disappearance of students-especially African American youth-from high schools across this nation.  Three out of 10 public school students who started ninth grade in September will drop out of school before graduation. 
 
Nationally, only five in 10 African Americans graduate on time with a high school diploma.   The situation in the Chicago Public Schools is equally distressing.  According to a  recent analysis, Chicago graduates about half of their incoming freshmen on time.
 
What happens when teenagers drop out of school? Without the required education to obtain a good-paying job, most dropouts face a bleak future. They earn, on average, less than high school graduates and are more likely to be unemployed. This wage gap often remains with them throughout their lives. Studies show that each class of high school dropouts costs the nation more than $200 billion in lost wages and tax revenues as well as spending for social support programs.
 
As educators, we must face this crisis head-on with a comprehensive plan to reduce high school dropouts.  Putting this plan into action will require the combined efforts of parents, clergy, educators, community-based organizations, businesses, and federal, state and local governments.
 
There are many proven approaches to combating rising dropout rates. Educators need the training and resources to spot the common dropout indicators: poor grades, poor attendance, poor family support and lack of interest.  Students need expanded graduation options-in career and technical fields and in alternative schools-so that youngsters have multiple paths to earn a diploma and achieve success.
 
And early intervention is key. Children at risk need to be identified at a young age-as early as grade school-so that sustained support can be applied. Research shows that success in the elementary grades diminishes the possibility of later dropping out in high school.
 
Drawn from a wide range of experience and data, these strategies are successful at improving student achievement and decreasing dropouts. Nevertheless, now is the time to do more.
 
In Illinois students can legally quit school when they turn 17.   Teachers, parents and public officials must reject the idea that it is acceptable for youngsters to drop out of school.  Compulsory school attendance laws must be reformed to make a high school diploma or its equivalent mandatory for all students below the age of 21.  Just as this country established compulsory attendance to the age of 16 or 17 in the beginning of the 20th century, it is appropriate and critical now to eradicate the notion of leaving school before achieving a diploma. 
 
Above all, we must listen to dropouts themselves and help youngsters overcome their sense of disconnectedness. Schools must begin to meet students' needs with a stimulating and relevant curriculum. And caring adults must be prepared to step in and end the slow disengagement that leads teenagers to opt out of their basic right to an education.
 
Now is the time to act and to act together - as educators, as lawmakers and as a community - to turn the tide on this silent epidemic.
 
Reg Weaver, a native of Chicago, is president of the National Education Association, which represents 3.2 million public school teachers, education support professionals and other educators.
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$25,000 award to city teacher
Maudlyne Ihejirika, Chicago Sun-Times
 
Sexton Elementary teacher Rana Khan leaned languidly against the wall, eyeing her antsy fifth-grade students while seemingly half-listening to speech after speech by dignitaries purportedly holding an assembly at the South Side school to celebrate Sexton's improvement in attendance figures.
 
She remained preoccupied with her students even as philanthropist Lowell Milken announced the assembly was a ruse so that he, Chicago Public Schools CEO Arne Duncan, football legend Rosey Grier and the others could present one very lucky Sexton teacher with a $25,000 Milken Family Foundation National Educator Award for exceptional teaching.
 
So Khan, in the middle of shushing her students, was caught a little by surprise when Milken yelled out her name.
 
'I'm in shock'
 
The gym erupted in cheers, while Khan stared blankly, uttering not a peep as she was pulled to the front and center of the room. Her fellow teachers cried, while Khan just stared.
"I'm in shock. I was on the verge of tears," Khan said a little later, as color began returning to her face.
 
"That's OK. We were crying for her," said Sexton Principal Ginger Bryant, who hired Khan straight out of college to teach at the Woodlawn school six years ago. "I've never regretted it. She's wonderful. Every single student in Rana's class scores off the charts, especially in math and reading. We see two- to three-year growth in her kids. I love her. I wish I could clone her."
 
Khan is among 100 teachers at schools nationwide who will get a surprise visit from Milken this month. A second winner in the Chicago area, fifth-grade teacher Kerin Motsinger of Park View Elementary in Glen Ellyn, was notified Tuesday.
 
"You can not apply for our award. We find you. You don't find us," Milken told the Sexton assembly. "Every successful person had a special teacher or two who believed in him or her. Good teachers really do make a difference, and this program says in a very public way that greatness in the teaching profession should be rewarded."
 
Since 1987, the Milken Family Foundation has given nearly $56 million to 2,200 teachers. A state board of education committee recommends the teachers, who aren't told they're in the running for the award.
 
"I felt really, really proud of her," said 10-year-old Monica Hollister, one of Khan's students. "Ms. Khan is really creative, and she's really bright. Mostly, she really cares about us students."
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Glen Ellyn teacher's surprise national award
Hafsa Naz Mahmood, Daily Herald
 
Kerin Motsinger clasped her hands over her chest and dropped her jaw when she learned Tuesday she'd won the $25,000 Milken National Educator Award.
 
Milken Family Foundation Chairman and Co-Founder Lowell Milken presented the award - and surprised most everyone at Park View Elementary School in Glen Ellyn.
 
The award is given to exceptional teachers based on the foundation's own research, not through nominations. One hundred teachers nationwide receive the award each year, and 102 Illinois teachers and principals have received it since its inception in 1987.
 
This year's other Illinois winner is Rana Khan of Austin O. Sexton Elementary School in Chicago.
 
Motsinger, who's been at the school for eight years, previously taught fifth grade and started teaching gifted students this year. She said she was overwhelmed and her fingers were all tingly. But most of all, she was grateful to her students.
 
"Thank you, because you make it easy to love teaching," she said after learning she won. "I have worked very hard, and it's a good feeling to know that hard work is recognized."
 
Motsinger was presented a $25,000 check that she can use however she'd like.
The Wheaton resident wasn't sure what she'd use the money for, but said she might save the cash for her daughters' college funds, pay off some debt or have a really good spring break.
 
"We'll have to think about it," she said as she couldn't wipe the smile off her face.
 
Milken said the foundation looks for teachers whose work is outstanding and who are at the beginning or middle of their careers.
 
"It just gives me great satisfaction to go and recognize the good work that our very best teachers do," he said.
 
Glen Ellyn Elementary District 89 Superintendent John Perdue said that to his knowledge, Motsinger is the only teacher in the district to have ever won the award.
 
"They picked a very deserving and caring teacher who really takes her work and turns it into learning for life," he said.
 
Motsinger's students said she's funny, nice and happy, and makes learning fun.
 
"If you think something's too hard, she can convince you otherwise," said Eugene Boguslavsky, 11, of Glen Ellyn.
 
Park View Principal Amy Boyer was the only one in the school who was in the loop about the award.
 
To help keep it a surprise, she told the school there was a special assembly to be held by the state board of education on achievement.
 
It was very hard to keep the secret for two weeks, she said.
 
"I think we have great educators all around," Boyer said, "and it's just a statement of how good and excellent our teachers are here in District 89."
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State schools not required to drill for shootings
Matt Adrian, Lee News Service
 
SPRINGFIELD -- Illinois schools are not required to conduct drills preparing students for school shootings, and one lawmaker thinks that may have to change.
 
A recent Illinois law requires school officials to review their emergency preparedness plans on an annual basis. While the plan requires at least three emergency drills a year, it doesn't mandate that training exercises focus on incidents like shootings, bomb threats or lockdowns.
 
"We need to be prepared," said state Rep. Mike Boland, D-East Moline, who co-sponsored the emergency preparedness regulations. "If we're hearing that they are not doing it, we ought to go back and mandate it."
 
The nation's attention has been drawn to school safety again after two high-profile hostage takings in the last 10 days. On Sept. 27, a man entered a Colorado high school and took six girls hostage. The man committed suicide and killed one of his captives. On Monday, a man took 10 girls hostage at an Amish school in Pennsylvania. The gunman shot and killed five of the girls before committing suicide.
 
Under the state law, school officials are required to work closely with fire and police departments to form safety plans.
 
"We encourage them to work with their local officials to meet all the needs" said Deb Vespa, an Illinois State Board of Education official. "Each school district may have different needs depending on the layout of their buildings."
 
The most notorious Illinois school shooting in recent history occurred in May 1988 when Laurie Dann, a woman with a history of mental problems, entered a Winnetka school with a gun. She killed an 8-year-old boy and wounded five other children.
 
Dann killed herself after a standoff with police.
 
While school shootings may be rare and grab headlines, the state has seen an increase in the amount of violence committed against school personnel.
 
According to 2005 state crime statistics released earlier this year, there were 3,242 crimes committed against school officials - an 11 percent increase from 2004.
 
The most common crime was aggravated assault and battery, which made up 2,452 of the recorded cases. Teachers made up nearly 60 percent of the victims.
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NATIONAL

Like Mom says: No TV on school nights
Study links viewing to classroom struggle
Carla K. Johnson, Associated Press
 
Middle school pupils who watch TV or play video games during the week do worse in school, a new study finds, but weekend viewing and gaming doesn't affect school performance much.
 
"On weekdays, the more they watched, the worse they did," said study co-author Dr. Iman Sharif of Children's Hospital at Montefiore in New York City. "They could watch a lot on weekends, and it didn't seem to correlate with doing worse."
 
Children whose parents allowed them to watch R-rated movies also did worse in class. That effect was especially strong for boys.
 
The findings, based on a survey of 4,500 pupils in 15 New Hampshire and Vermont middle schools, appear in the October issue of Pediatrics.
 
Weekend viewing and gaming slightly hurt school performance, but only when the children spent more than four hours each day at it over the weekend.
 
The study didn't look at grades or test scores, relying instead on students' own rating of their performance from "excellent" to "below average." Sharif said other studies have shown that students generally inflate their actual school performance when asked. But because both good and bad students overrate their performance, she said, self-reporting is reliable.
 
Researchers took into account the possible effect of different parenting styles as reported by the pupils, and they still found weekday TV viewing, video games and R-rated movie-watching harmful.
 
The researchers didn't speculate on why boys might be more affected by R-rated movies than girls. But Douglas Gentile, who does similar research at Iowa State University, said boys may be watching more violent R-rated movies that make them more aggressive. The aggression may lead to poor school performance, said Gentile, who was not involved in the study.
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Happy birthday! Have some carrots
School cupcake bans raise sour objections
Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times
 
LOS ANGELES -- The days of the birthday cupcake--smothered in a slurry of sticky frosting and with a dash of rainbow sprinkles--may be numbered in schoolhouses across the nation.
 
Fears of childhood obesity have led schools to discourage and sometimes even ban what were once de rigueur grammar-school treats.
 
"They can bring carrots," said Laura Ott, assistant to the superintendent of Orange County's Saddleback Valley Unified School District, which just started limiting non-nutritious classroom treats to three times per year. "A birthday doesn't have to be associated with food."
 
Such nutritional dictates have ignited a series of cupcake mini-rebellions across the country, and Texas has led the way.
 
The Texas Legislature last year passed the so-called Safe Cupcake amendment, which guarantees parents' right to deliver unhealthful treats to the classroom, such as sweetheart candies on Valentine's Day and candy corn on Halloween. Rep. Jim Dunnam sponsored the legislation after a school in his district booted out a father bringing birthday pizzas to his child's class.
 
"There's a lot of reasons our kids are getting fat," said Dunnam, a Democrat from Waco. "Cupcakes aren't one of them."
 
Whether cookies, cakes and other birthday treats at school are the culprits or not, the nation's children definitely are packing on the pounds.

Nearly 19 percent of children ages 6 to 11 and more than 17 percent of adolescents ages 12 to 19 were overweight in 2003-04, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Extra weight carries health risks, as seen in the increasing childhood diagnoses of Type 2 diabetes.
 
Obesity concerns led to last year's ban on junk-food and soda sales in California schools. Recent laws by states and the federal government also have prompted school districts throughout the nation to overhaul their nutrition and wellness policies.
 
"It is a very serious problem, and some districts are looking not only to change what is offered and sold during lunchtime but what is being provided during" the rest of the school day, said Martin Gonzalez, assistant executive director of the California School Boards Association.
 
`Give me a break'
 
The crackdown on cupcakes and cookies, a tradition fondly remembered by generations of parents, is often the touchiest.
 
"That's just ridiculous. Give me a break," said Alexandria Coronado, a member of the Orange County Board of Education and mother of a 15-year-old. "People kill for my fudge."
 
Although nutritionists endorse promoting healthful eating in schools, some question the logic of making any popular food taboo.
 
"The more you restrict these special foods--cakes or sweets or whatever--they become even more valued by children. It can almost kind of backfire," said Dr. Nancy Krebs, co-chairwoman of the American Academy of Pediatrics' Task Force on Obesity. "You want to have a kind of pragmatic approach that sweets and desserts are OK in moderation and not put them up on a pedestal."
 
When the Santa Clara Unified School District in Northern California began reviewing its nutrition policy a year ago, public meetings devolved into shouting matches when the staff recommended banning all junk food from campus, including at school football games.
 
"It got very heated," said Roger Barnes, an administrator of the 13,000-student district.
 
In August, the district board decided to ban selling unhealthful food from vending machines and to prohibit teachers from dishing out candy as a reward. But they granted a reprieve to birthday cupcake parties and cheese-dripping nachos at football games.
 
"They're trying to appease everyone," complained Noelani Sallings, who has two daughters in the district and is running for the school board in November. "American waistlines are getting larger and larger."
 
Los Angeles is among many neutral territories when it comes to birthday treats at schools.
 
"There's no central directive," said Susan Cox, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Unified School District. "We try to encourage parents to consider healthy alternatives."
 
In San Francisco, parents are encouraged to supply parties with fruit, celery sticks stuffed with low-fat cream cheese, whole-wheat pita triangles and hummus, and zucchini bread.
 
Some schools are going further.
 
In the Duxbury Public School District in Massachusetts, parents and educators on the Chandler School Council decided to forgo all classroom treats two years ago, Supt. Eileen Williams said.
 
Other ways to celebrate
 
"The `ban on cupcakes' was controversial, as it was a long-standing tradition. But most adults could readily see once the new policy was put into place that the new ways of recognizing birthdays in school, including special clothing and seat covers made by the parents, were a delight for the children," Williams wrote in an e-mail.
 
In Orange County, Chaparral Elementary Principal Kevin Rafferty decided to ban celebratory food at his Ladera Ranch school this year after hearing about similar efforts at nearby schools.
 
"There will be parents that maybe are unaware [and] come in with an armful of cupcakes or doughnuts," he said. "I don't relish those kinds of conversations. At the same time, I want to do what's best for kids."
 
Rafferty and others noted that in a classroom of 30 students, birthdays, Valentine's Day celebrations, Halloween and other special events can mean dozens of junk-food-laden parties.
 
"That's a lot of cupcakes over the year," Rafferty said.
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Harassment in schools is 'universal'
Beth Quimby, Portland Press Herald
 
FREEPORT - It was lunchtime at Freeport High School last week as students poured into the hallways and headed toward the cafeteria. Snatches of conversation rose from the crush of backpack-toting bodies as the teens talked about grades, laughed at jokes or complained about how tired they were.

But the banter isn't always so innocent, some students said, listing terms such as "trailer trash," "retard" and "fat" among a litany of popular teenage put-downs. For the most part, students say, the words are delivered away from adult ears as good-natured kidding and only between people who consider each other friends.
 
"It may not be politically correct," said junior Ashley Briggs. "Most of the time it is a joke."
 
But what some teenagers consider humor, others would call evidence of bias and harassment -- language of the sort that, last week, shocked residents of Portland, where a survey by the Center for the Prevention of Hate Violence uncovered bias, harassment and racism in the words high school students use every day at school.
 
The surveys, most recently at Portland High School and earlier in the year at Deering High School, detailed how students use derogatory language concerning race, sexual preference or mental abilities and touched off an outpouring of response from students and parents.
 
Indeed, race is a particularly sensitive issue at Portland High, where 40 percent of the school's nearly 1,100 students are nonwhite, according to school officials. But bias and harassment also are alive and well at the rest of the state's 152 public high schools, where the average enrollment is fewer than 500 students and the students are predominately white, students and administrators say.
 
"It is a universal issue," said Chuck Saufler, an anti-bullying specialist and guidance counselor at West Bath Elementary School and co-author of "Maine's Best Practices in Bullying and Harassment Prevention," a guide published this year by the Governor's Children's Cabinet.
 
Teenagers may focus their harassment on racial and ethnic differences where they exist, as was the case at Portland and Deering high schools. But students will focus on socio-economic differences or athletic prowess when minorities are absent, he said.
 
"The haves or have-nots, who your parents are, the clothing you wear, where you live in town, how athletic you are," Saufler said.
 
Around the state, educators say harassment based on sexual orientation is probably the most common, aimed at students who are homosexual or lesbian or do not fit strict male and female stereotypes. This is followed by harassment of students with disabilities, sexual harassment and "girl on girl" harassment.
 
Schools use a variety of measures to deal with it all. Freeport High School, where 89 percent of the school's 440 students are white, gives "sensitivity training" to students and faculty.
 
Wiscasset High School, which has 360 students, takes a hard-line approach. Use of homophobic slurs, derogatory terms or disrespectful language means an automatic three-hour Friday detention and a mediation process in which students involved in the offense sit across from each other to talk. Teachers are trained to report students when they hear derogatory language.
 
"No harassment gets by us," Principal Susan Poppish said. "We are pretty rigid."
 
The Legislature passed an amendment this year to the state's student conduct code, encouraging school districts to establish policies and procedures to address bullying, harassment and sexual harassment.
 
The Legislature's Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs also directed the Children's Cabinet, which oversees the delivery of services across state departments to Maine children, to develop a guide that outlines steps schools can take to prevent harassment and bullying. Among other things, the guide recommends regular classroom discussions on the subject.
 
Eileen Sheehy, assistant principal at Wells High School, said much of her school's focus is on the use of language that may be part of today's popular music but is not part of an acceptable school vocabulary.
 
"We are aware that violence comes from words, basically," Sheehy said. "It is a priority to us to extinguish the inappropriate words, words some students might just say are common to their language."
 
Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School has a part-time anti-harassment counselor and teams of student groups dedicated to promoting a culture of respect. Middle school students are put through a week of diversity training. The school also holds assemblies on the subject. Still, Principal Ted Moccia says, Oxford Hills is not harassment-free.
 
"It does go on anyway. You have your head in the sand if you believe otherwise," he said.

Schools need clear anti-harassment and bullying guidelines and consistency in enforcing consequences in order to change a culture at a school, said Stan Davis, who has trained schools in Maine and nationally on bullying prevention strategies. Davis said many of the techniques used in the workplace can be applied at school.
 
"This is not sitting on a rug and singing, 'I like you and I like me,' " Davis said.
 
He said the most successful workplace anti-sexual-harassment programs are based on a series of small but increasingly severe consequences consistently applied without anger, such as verbal and written warnings.
 
Anti-bullying techniques have been applied for nearly a decade at James H. Bean Elementary School in Sidney, where Davis is a guidance counselor. There, kindergartners are taught how to respond to other children who try to exclude them.
 
"The kindergartners found they could get a lot of power by saying, 'I don't want to play with you.' So we taught the whole kindergarten to say, 'OK, I will play with someone else,' " which took away the power, he said. Bean school students are taught to speak out against bullying.
 
Back at Freeport High School, groups of students last week sat at tables at study period and talked openly about the harassment at their school, which they characterized as mild.
 
"Everyone is laughing. They give it back to you," said Jacob Vincent, a sophomore.
 
Sari Hazzard, a junior, said that because the school is so small, there is a feeling of family and closeness among the students, and the joking never turns mean.
 
"It definitely happens. We harass each other," junior Stephania Cushing said.
 
Desire St. Cyr, who is Jewish, said it does not bother her when friends refer to her as the "Jew."
"I just say, 'Thanks for stating the obvious,' " she said.
 
But Aston Walker, a sophomore whose parents are of mixed races, said he doesn't think it's funny when his friends call him "African."
 
"I hate it even if you think it is funny. You get a laugh out of it, but it gets old," he told his friends, who suddenly grew quiet.

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School violence conference being organized by Bush administration
Associated Press
 
RENO, Nev.  - The Bush administration, alarmed by recent attacks at public schools across the country, is bringing education and law enforcement experts together for a conference on coming to grips with the problem.
 
The goal would be to discuss the nature of the problem and federal action that can help communities prevent violence and deal with its aftermath, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino told reporters as President Bush made a campaign tour here Monday.
 
Three schools have been hit by deadly attacks in the past week. A gunman killed himself and five girls Monday at a one-room Amish schoolhouse in Pennsylvania; on Friday a 15-year-old Wisconsin student shot and killed his principal; and last Wednesday a man took six girls hostage in Colorado, sexually assaulting them before fatally shooting one girl and killing himself.
 
"The president is deeply saddened and troubled by the recent school violence and shootings that have taken place in different communities across America," Perino said. "It breaks America's collective heart when innocent children who are at school to learn are violently taken hostage and cut down in their own schools."
 
Perino said the conference was still in the planning stages, so a specific date, location and other details were not ready to be announced. It was not clear whether President Bush would attend.
 
Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Bush's domestic policy adviser, Karl Zinsmeister, met Monday at the White House to discuss the conference. They met while the president was on a cross-country flight to begin a three-day fundraising trip for Republican candidates in the midterm election.
 
Perino said participants on the education side would include groups like the National Parent Teacher Association, school principals and teachers' unions. The Federal Bureau of Investigations would be among those representing law enforcement, she said.

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10 myths about school shootings
Bill Dedman, MSNBC

The profile of the gun-toting student in a trench coat is just one of the myths about the rare but murderous attacks in the nation’s schools.
 
Here are 10 myths about school shootings, compiled by MSNBC.com from a 2002 study by the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Department of Education. The researchers studied case files and other primary sources for 37 attacks by current or former students, and also interviewed 10 of the perpetrators.
 
Myth No. 1. “He didn’t fit the profile.”
 
In fact, there is no profile. “There is no accurate or useful ‘profile’ of students who engaged in targeted school violence,” the researchers found.
 
The stereotypes of teens in Goth makeup or other types of dress are not useful in preventing attacks. Just as in other areas of security -- workplace violence, airplane hijacking, even presidential assassination -- too many innocent students will fit any profile you can come up with, and too many attackers will not.
 
“The demographic, personality, school history, and social characteristics of the attackers varied substantially,” the report said. Attackers were of all races and family situations, with academic achievement ranging from failing to excellent.
 
Myth No. 2. “He just snapped.”
 
Rarely were incidents of school violence sudden, impulsive acts. Attackers do not “just snap,” but progress from forming an idea, to planning an attack, to gathering weapons. This process can happen quickly, but sometimes the planning or gathering weapons are discoverable.
 
Myth No. 3. “No one knew.”
 
Before most of the attacks, someone else knew about the idea or the plan. "In most cases, those who knew were other kids: friends, schoolmates, siblings and others. However, this information rarely made its way to an adult." Most attackers engaged in some behavior prior to the incident that caused concern or indicated a need for help.
 
Myth No. 4. “He hadn’t threatened anyone.”

Too much emphasis is placed on threats. Most attackers did not threaten, and most threateners did not attack. A child who talks of bringing a gun to school, or seeking revenge on teachers or classmates, poses a threat, whether or not a threat is made.
 
Myth No. 5. “He was a loner.”
 
In many cases, students were considered in the mainstream of the student population and were active in sports, school clubs or other activities.
 
Only one-quarter of the students hung out with a group of students considered to be part of a “fringe group.”
 
Myth No. 6. “He was crazy.”
 
Only one-third of the attackers had ever been seen by a mental health professional, and only one-fifth had been diagnosed with a mental disorder. Substance abuse problems were also not prevalent. “However, most attackers showed some history of suicidal attempts or thoughts, or a history of feeling extreme depression or desperation.” Most attackers had difficulty coping with significant losses or personal failures.
 
Myth No. 7. “If only we’d had a SWAT team or metal detectors.”
 
Despite prompt law enforcement responses, most shooting incidents were over well before a SWAT team could have arrived. Metal detectors have not deterred students who were committed to killing themselves and others.
 
Myth No. 8. “He’d never touched a gun.”
 
Most attackers had access to weapons, and had used them prior to the attack. Most of the attackers acquired their guns from home.
 
Myth No. 9. “We did everything we could to help him.”
 
"Many attackers felt bullied, persecuted or injured by others prior to the attack," and said they had tried without success to get someone to intervene. Administrators and teachers were targeted in more than half the incidents.
 
Myth No. 10. “School violence is rampant.”
 
It may seem so, with media attention focused on a spate of school shootings. In fact, school shootings are extremely rare. Even including the more common violence that is gang-related or dispute-related, only 12 to 20 homicides a year occur in the 100,000 schools in the U.S. In general, school assaults and other violence have dropped by nearly half in the past decade.

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Plan calls for lottery to assist schools
Under Republicans' proposal, reserve money would go to capital projects
Lola Alapo, Knoxville News Sentinel
 
A month before November's general elections, local Republican legislators announced plans to introduce a bill that would use lottery reserve money to fund capital improvements for schools.
 
"It's a common-sense approach to providing for educational resources," said Rep. William Baird, R-Jacksboro, at a Tuesday morning news conference at the construction site for the new Hardin Valley High School in West Knox County.
 
Older and crowded schools are a norm around the state, he said, and counties are strapped for construction funding.
 
But there's $323.4 million in the lottery reserve fund, Baird said.
 
"The reserve should be used for programs the lottery was designed for," he said, which include K-12 facilities, day care and after-school programs.
 
The lottery money could keep school work from becoming a "political football," as the Hardin Valley school did when the Knox County Board of Education and County Commission disagreed about who would provide $6 million needed to complete it, said Rep. Bill Dunn, R-Knoxville.
 
Commissioners eventually decided the school board would need to come up with the extra funds.
 
Dunn said he has approached some county commissioners about the bill and "they seem interested," he said. "When Republicans gain a majority" in the state Legislature, Dunn said, it would help push the bill through.
 
Knoxville Democrat Harry Tindell, contacted after the Republicans' news conference, said Republicans don't need control to propose an idea.
 
"Education is not Democrats and Republicans," said Tindell, a state representative from North Knoxville. "We serve all people. If it's a good idea, draft a bill and bring it forward. Anything that helps education is a plus."
 
Tindell questioned why the announcement came weeks before the election.
 
"They could have brought this proposal forward four years ago," he said.

Knox County school board chairwoman Karen Carson said, "The idea of having additional funding is definitely intriguing. When we talk about Hardin Valley, that's only the tip of the iceberg of the needs we have in Knox County."
 
Sen. Tim Burchett, R-Knoxville, said at Tuesday's press conference that the reserve money also would be used to fully fund state lottery scholarships.
 
"We want to make sure we get the money where we want it to go," he said. "We have to keep our word to the public."
 
Republicans would introduce the bill in the next assembly in January.

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Clinton Deal Cuts School Snack Foods
Karen Matthews, Associated Press 
 
NEW YORK -- Snacks sold in schools will have to cut the fat, sugar and salt under the latest crackdown on junk food won by former President Clinton.
 
Just five months after a similar agreement targeting the sale of sodas in schools, Clinton and the American Heart Association announced a deal Friday with several major food companies to make school snacks healthier -- the latest assault on the nation's childhood obesity epidemic.
 
"By working with schools and industry to implement these guidelines, we are helping to give parents peace of mind that their kids will be able to make healthier choices at school," said Dr. Raymond Gibbons, president of the heart association.
 
The agreement with Kraft Foods Inc., Mars Inc., Campbell Soup Co., Groupe Danone SA and PepsiCo Inc. sets guidelines for fat, sugar, sodium and calories for snack foods sold in school vending machines, stores and snack bars. Those companies make everything from M&M's, yogurt and granola bars to Frito-Lay potato chips, Snickers bars and canned soups.
 
Under the guidelines, most foods won't be permitted to derive more than 35 percent of their calories from fat and more than 10 percent from saturated fat. There will be a limit of 35 percent for sugar content by weight.
 
An example of a snack that would be banned is a Snickers bar, which has 280 calories, 130 of them from fat. The candy bar has 30 grams of sugar out of 58.7 total grams.
 
Gibbons said Thursday the guidelines are based on the recommendations of leading scientists "as to what we should be doing to provide more nutritious foods for our kids."
 
Charles Nicolas, a spokesman for PepsiCo, which owns Frito-Lay and Quaker, said Frito-Lay already has products that meet the guidelines, such as baked potato chips and reduced-sugar chewy bars.
 
"We're going to change a few recipes so that more snacks meet those guidelines as well," he said.
 
Kraft said in a statement that it would add the sodium and calorie caps to its nutrition guidelines "and extend these guidelines to include all of our competitive foods sold in schools."
 
The William J. Clinton Foundation teamed up with the heart association to form the Alliance for a Healthier Generation in 2005. The alliance was formed to combat childhood obesity, which has been blamed for an increase in early-onset diabetes and other ills.
 
In May, the alliance announced an agreement with beverage industry leaders to sell only water, unsweetened juice and low-fat and nonfat milk in elementary and middle schools. Diet sodas and sports drinks are still being sold in high schools.
Officials said that agreement covered 87 percent of the soft drink market in public and private schools.
 
Bob Harrison, executive director of the alliance, said the snack-food industry is not as concentrated as the beverage industry, so the reach of this agreement will not be as wide as the earlier one.
 
But he said the five companies participating in the new agreement are market leaders and their influence will be felt.
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State-paid full-day kindergarten among group's goals
Nancy C. Rodriguez, Louisville Courier-Journal
 
Over the next five years, one of the state's leading education advocacy groups plans to push for universal preschool, state-funded full-day kindergarten and a pay system that rewards teachers for how well they do, not how long they have been in the classroom.
 
The Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence gave final approval to its "Five Year Plan for Progress" at its semiannual meeting at General Butler State Park yesterday. "What we are saying here is these are the most important things for the next five years," said Bob Sexton, the committee's executive director. "We can do them. They can be accomplished, and they should be at the top of our priority list."
 
The committee has for years urged a system of paying teachers that would, among other things, provide monetary incentives for teachers who opt to work in struggling schools or high-need areas such as math and special education. Teachers also could be rewarded for taking on leadership roles in their schools.
 
Gov. Ernie Fletcher attempted to provide money for such a system in his proposed state budget last year, but it didn't make it into the final version approved by the legislature.
 
But Sexton said there has been growing interest among House and Senate leaders in recent months to explore the idea of revamping how teachers are paid.
 
Sexton said the committee was encouraged by lawmakers investing so heavily in education during the past session, particularly in areas such as early childhood education.
 
The committee, however, would like to see even more done, including increasing funding so that every 3- and 4-year-old in Kentucky has access to quality preschool programs and so that the state pays for full-day kindergarten programs. The state only gives school districts money for half-day programs now, leaving those that want full-day programs to find the money within their own budgets.
 
At its meeting, the committee announced it is joining forces with Pre-K Now, a national advocacy group, to push for expanded preschool in the state.
 
Other priorities for the committee include increasing the state's high school graduation rate, eliminating the achievement gap between minorities and white students, and improving math, science and technology achievement levels.
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Bush administration hopes idea-sharing will quell school violence
Ben Feller, Associated Press
 
CHEVY CHASE, Md. - President Bush urged the nation Tuesday to help prevent deadly school shootings, saying adults should intervene when they notice children are in trouble.
 
"Hopefully, out of these tragedies will come the sense of communal obligation all throughout our country, for people to take an extra effort to comfort the lonely," Bush said at a summit he ordered in response to recent violence.
 
Bush seemed most struck by one of the points raised by experts: When students plot violence, they often brag about it in advance to other students. Safety specialists say schools must encourage students to speak up when they notice any ominous behavioral changes.
 
"The whole purpose of this exercise is to help educate," Bush said at the National 4-H Conference Center, "and if there needs to be a cultural change inside schools, for teachers to become more aware and more active."
 
There were no new policies nor new money announced. The administration instead touted Web sites of existing resources. Panelists spent the day sharing examples of local programs.
 
Democrats mocked the event as a photo opportunity with little substance. Democratic senators challenged Bush to reinstate funding that's been cut from school-safety programs.
 
"It seems every week we learn of yet another school shooting, and all the president is willing to do is hold a summit," said Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J.
 
Over the last two weeks, school shootings in Wisconsin, Colorado and Pennsylvania have unnerved the nation. Two involved adult intruders; the other was a student seeking revenge.
 
The federal role in school safety is limited. It's mainly a local matter. But the White House, sensitive to the concerns of many parents, wanted to show it was doing something.
 
Education Secretary Margaret Spellings and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales led three panel discussions. Time and again, speakers said schools get safer when they take bullying seriously, practice their crisis plans, and talk to parents about what's happening.
 
"Our first line of prevention is really having good intelligence," said Delbert Elliott, director of the University of Colorado Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence.
 
Columbine survivor Craig Scott told the wrenching story of the day his sister died. He was in the Colorado school in 1999 when two student gunmen went on a rampage, killing 13 people, including his sister Rachel. He told Bush that kindness and compassion can trump violence.
 
"Please take my words to heart today," Scott said. "They were bought at a high price."
 
Bush applauded Scott's efforts. But when responding to an audience member, Bush challenged an assertion that the school testing he champions has crowded out character education.
 
"I don't think it's zero sum," Bush said. "I think you make sure a child learns and you can instill character at the same time."
 
He also said it was beyond the federal government to change what is in people's hearts.
 
"Government is law and justice," Bush said. "Loves comes from the hearts of people that are able to impart love."
 
At one point, someone in the audience asked Gonzales why the government hadn't done more to keep guns out of kids' hands.
 
"Obviously, kids should not have access to weapons, and there should be no weapons in our schools," the attorney general said. "That's been the position of our president since his days as governor."
 
The number of deadly shootings has gone up and down over the last 15 years. Overall school violence has trended downward, although it has increased lately.
 
Students in middle school and high school reported about 660,000 violent crimes in school in 2002 _ a 43 percent drop from a decade earlier. But the number rose to 740,000 in 2003.
 
Four weeks before Election Day, the event gave Bush a chance to emphasize education, the issue at the center of his domestic agenda. The summit comes as Republicans in Congress have been eager to change the subject from a sex scandal involving former House pages.
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Mich. OKs evolution curriculum
Tim Martin, Associated Press
 
LANSING, Mich. -- The State Board of Education on Tuesday approved public school curriculum guidelines that support the teaching of evolution in science classes--but not intelligent design.
 
Intelligent design instruction could be left for other classes in Michigan schools, but it doesn't belong in science class, according to the unanimously adopted guidelines.
 
"The intent of the board needs to be very clear," said board member John Austin, an Ann Arbor Democrat. "Evolution is not under stress. It is not untested science."
 
Some science groups and the American Civil Liberties Union had worried that state standards would not be strong enough to prevent the discussion of intelligent design as the course expectations developed over the summer.
 
The guidelines approved Tuesday detail what the state expects school districts to teach in their science classes.
 
If a district or teacher chose to include intelligent design in a science class, they could face a court challenge from opponents of teaching intelligent design.
 
Intelligent design's proponents hold that living organisms are so complex they must have been created by a higher force rather than evolving from more primitive forms.
 
Some want science teachers to teach that Darwin's theory of evolution is not a fact and has gaps.
 
Gregory Forbes, a community college biology instructor, said it appears the "doors have been shut" on those in Michigan who support the teaching of intelligent design as a viable scientific alternative to evolution.
 
"To suggest intelligent design is a scientific theory is inappropriate because it is not testable. ... It hasn't earned its way into the science classroom," said Forbes, who teaches at Grand Rapids Community College.
 
Richard Thompson, leader of the Thomas More Law Center in Ann Arbor, said intelligent design should have a home in science classes. The center describes its mission as defending the religious freedom of Christians.
 
"It would make students more knowledgeable about science and more interested in science," Thompson said in a phone interview. "Evolution is a theory. It's not a fact."
 
Intelligent design has also become an issue in the Michigan governor's race.
 
Republican gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos, a conservative Christian, said last month that he approves of intelligent design being taught along with evolution in science classes, though he said the decision should be left up to local school districts.
 
Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who is Roman Catholic, said Michigan schools need to teach evolution in science classes and not include intelligent design.
 
She said school districts can explore intelligent design in current events or comparative religions classes.
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When skipping school is a malady, not misbehavior
For some students such as Kylie Peters, refusing to go to school is a sign of an anxiety disorder
Bonnie Miller Rubin, Chicago Tribune

Kylie Peters walks confidently through St. Viator High School's halls, which buzz with a jangly adolescent energy.
 
Talking with friends en route to physics class at the Arlington Heights school, she makes the encounters look effortless. But for this bright 17-year-old, just being in school is something like planting a flag atop Mt. Everest.
 
"The first week was pretty scary," confessed the junior, who required medical assistance to start her first two years of high school. "For a while I thought I'd have to go back to the hospital. But somehow, this time, I found the determination."
 
Peters suffers from school refusal behavior, usually a symptom of a serious anxiety disorder. For these youngsters--about 5 percent of the student population, according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry--the mere thought of entering a classroom is so distressing that they will do almost anything to escape.
 
As the U.S. searches for answers to its perplexing high school dropout rate--which hovers at about 30 percent--attendance is just starting to be recognized as a more complex issue, sometimes requiring therapeutic rather than disciplinary action, experts say.
 
Skeptics may dismiss such conduct as a scam allowing children to languish on the couch playing video games and requiring no more specialized treatment than a swift kick in the pants. But clinicians say this is different from regular truancy. These youngsters aren't cutting class to do something fun; they suffer from debilitating anxiety.
 
"It looks manipulative, but it's not," said Andrew Eisen of the Child Anxiety Disorders Clinic at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey.
 
"These are kids who promise to go tomorrow; they beg to be home-schooled, anything to stay home," said Dr. Tahseen Mohammed, a psychiatrist at Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights, the only medical facility in the country to have a program addressing the disorder.
 
The recent rash of deadly school shootings has exacerbated their problem, he said. "The news definitely has an impact. ... It heightens kids' anxiety, making their symptoms even worse," Mohammed said.
 
Waiting list for program
 
In his program, the first few weeks of the academic year typically are quiet, but by October the 16 slots are full, and there's a waiting list. The majority of clients are referred by nearby high schools, but some have come from as far as Lemont and Aurora. It is not unusual for students in the program to pile up 50 absences a year; one teen had not set foot in a classroom for two years.
 
"Kids are miserable, and parents are frustrated," said Maggie Hahn, the program's clinical coordinator. "No matter what parents say or do, it doesn't make any difference ... and they don't know where to turn."
 
"School phobia" first started appearing in medical literature during the 1960s. By 1990, school refusal behavior became the preferred term.
 
Typically, it starts with physical complaints such as headaches, sore throats or stomach cramps. Children may seem fine on the weekend, but by Sunday night the ailments reappear, and the battles--the pleading, bribery and threats--start all over. Left unchecked, such anxiety can trigger other problems, including dropping out of school and social isolation.
 
"This doesn't get better on its own," Mohammed said. "There are short- and long-term implications, which is why it requires aggressive treatment, not punishment."
 
The condition may start in early childhood with excessive clinginess sparked by fears of abandonment or that "something bad" will happen while they are away, Eisen said.
 
But the condition is more serious and hits hardest in early adolescence, when youngsters leave the nurturing elementary school environment, hormones go haywire and self-consciousness is at its peak.
 
For Peters, the oldest of six girls with a streak of perfectionism, anxiety enveloped her as she moved from grammar school--"where I had known everyone since kindergarten"--to St. Viator. In her freshman year, the honor-roll student lasted one month before entering treatment at Northwest.
 
"I wanted to come--I really did," Peters said. "But I found myself crying in every class almost every day. My parents would threaten to take away the computer. The phone. But I didn't care. Nothing could make me go."
 
The change took its toll on the entire family, said her mother, Kitty.
 
"I'd get angry. I'd scream. Eventually, I just had to tell myself that this isn't Kylie, but some outside thing. ... I'd tell her, `You can't let "it" win.'"
 
As a sophomore, Peters lasted a mere week before returning to the hospital program.
 
"I wished I had cancer because people would feel sorry for me ... and that's something everyone would understand," she said.
 
In Northwest's intensive, three-week program, people did understand. For the first time, Peters said, she was surrounded by peers--preps, goths, punks--who "got it."
 
Those who are aggressive or suicidal stay in the hospital; the others are outpatients. During the first two weeks, teens put in an 8 a.m.-to-5 p.m. day. Two teachers keep them current on homework.
 
Individual and group therapy and instruction in relaxation techniques are designed to help them get out of the house. Three evenings a week, parents join their offspring for mandatory family therapy.
 
By the third week, the kids start to wean themselves off the program, spending their mornings at their schools before returning to Northwest in the afternoon. The goal is to develop coping skills through exposure to manageable challenges.
 
"The coolest thing is when we have new kids who can't even imagine going back to school and they see these kids who have already been there all morning. It gives them hope," Hahn said.
Peters is one of the program's success stories, yet this year hasn't been a breeze. Some days, Peters would watch the clock on the wall tick so achingly slowly that she was convinced she could not make it through the next hour. But now she has the tools to deal with those feelings.
 
"I hung on," she said proudly.
 
This year, when she felt the walls closing in, she used coping skills--such as blowing out 10 imaginary candles, one at a time--to keep her thoughts from overwhelming her. She also credits medication along with the St. Viator staff for helping relieve the stress.
 
But Northwest's own data provide a reminder that recovery is fragile: Of 45 students discharged from the program, half had six absences or fewer after 90 days while half had more, typically when families start getting lax about bedtime and waking routines.
 
It's a cliche, but Peters is taking it one day at a time.
 
"It's always going to be a struggle," she said. "But I told myself that if I went to the hospital this year, I'd probably have to go next year ... and the year after and every other time I faced something new."
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They're All Federal Educators Now
Commentary by Neal McCluskey, policy analyst at the Cato Institute's Center for Educational Freedom, Special To The Evening Bulletin, 10/03/06
 
For decades, conservatives stood against big-government intrusions into American education. They defended local control of schooling, championed parental choice and pushed to abolish the Federal Department of Education. But then, tragedy struck: Republicans took power in Washington, and conservatives suddenly learned to love big government. Indeed, some are now so enamored of it that they are proposing what was once unthinkable: having the federal government set curricular standards for every public school in America. A few weeks ago, the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, a leading conservative education group, launched a major campaign to get this done. In the report they released to kick off their initiative - titled "To Dream the Impossible Dream" - the Fordham folks pointed out that states have proven incapable of imposing high standards on themselves, and that the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act has precipitated a standards "race to the bottom." Fixing these problems, they argue, will require uniform federal standards.

Thursday, their idea got two huge endorsements. In a Washington Post op-ed, former U.S. secretaries of education William J. Bennett and Rod Paige seconded Fordham's call for national standards and tests, paradoxically arguing, like Fordham, that because current federal policy is broken, we need much more federal control.

Unfortunately, perhaps because they are desperate for change, Paige, Bennett and Fordham are all wearing massive political blinders. Quite simply, national standards - or government-imposed education standards at any level - are at best doomed to mediocrity. The way government shapes policy preordains failure.

For one thing, the compromise demanded by democratic politics will always require that the nation's numerous ethnic, religious, pedagogical and other groups be accommodated in the creation of standards. This is perhaps as it should be, but it inevitably pushes standards to lowest-common-denominator levels. Education historian Diane Ravitch - another conservative supporter of national standards - shows this brilliantly in her book The Language Police, which demonstrates how textbooks adopted by state governments are hopelessly politicized and, as a consequence, hopelessly banal.

Even more debilitating, however, is that government standards always have to pass through vested interests, like teacher unions and education administrators, who have strong incentives - and heaps of political power - to keep standards weak. Indeed, if there's just one lesson that decades of failed big-government education should have taught conservatives, it's that groups like the National Education Association have almost endless time, money and incentives to get their political way, while parents, children, and conservatives do not.

In light of that political reality, greater federal control over schooling is a hopeless solution to our education problems. Bennett and Paige almost admit as much in their Post piece, conceding that they are "painfully aware that national standards and tests are hard to get right - and even harder to get through Congress."

Perhaps that pain needs to become a little more acute, because no matter how much conservatives wish it weren't so, decades of monopolistic public schooling have proven that government will never provide desirable standards. Indeed, the numerous inherent problems of government are among the many reasons that the framers of the Constitution gave Washington no authority over education. They are also good reasons why Paige and Bennett should not simply dismiss the Constitution, as they did in their op-ed, on the grounds that, even though "the Constitution says nothing about education, in a world of fierce competition we can't afford to pretend that the current system is getting us where we need to go."

Of course, the current system isn't getting us where we need to go. But government control isn't the solution; it's the problem.

Thankfully, we can still get high standards, but to do that, conservatives will have to give up on doing good through government and return to fighting for the principles they once championed. School choice - giving parents the ability to take education money to schools that work and away from those that don't - is the only hope. Only choice will obviate the need for constant political compromise, avert the gate-keeping power of special interests, and impose real accountability on schools by forcing them to attract and keep customers.

As Congress moves inexorably closer to next year's scheduled reauthorization of NCLB, conservatives must reject calls for federal standards and tests and remember the principles that they once held dear. Politically compromised, big-government policies will simply never provide the education our children need and deserve. Only pulling government out of education, and empowering parents and families with school choice, will do that.
 
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