[ProgressiveEd] Fwd: News on the class size front
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I thought you might find these articles interesting in the light of the
upcoming budget cuts. Carol
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Message-ID: <030001c2f3f3$c3da6eb0$6701a8c0@Leonie>
From: "Leonie Haimson" <[email protected]>
To: "Leonie Haimson" <[email protected]>
Subject: News on the class size front
Date: Wed, 26 Mar 2003 18:59:14 -0500
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News on the class size front:
>From all accounts, lobby day went well in Albany yesterday, with hundreds of=
parents from NYC asking their State Legislators to restore the Governor's h=
uge cuts to education, and particularly to restore his proposed elimination=20=
of all funds for pre-K and smaller classes. =20
In today's New York Times, there is a terrific column by Michael Winerip abo=
ut PS 20 on the Lower East Side, which has vastly improved because of smalle=
r classes. Also there's an interesting article on how urban school district=
s across the country have raised student achievement, in large part because=20=
of class size reduction. Both of these I include below.
Indeed, these two articles underscore how critical the need is to continue i=
nvesting in smaller classes here in New York, despite Governor Pataki's prop=
osal to cancel all state funding for the program. According to Education We=
ek, thirty two states across the country now have their own class size reduc=
tion programs, and not a single Governor other than ours has actually sugges=
ted eliminating their funding. =20
For example, in North Carolina, Governor Easley just reconfirmed his intenti=
on to expand their state class size reduction program. In Georgia, there is=
a battle between the Governor and the Legislature over not whether to cance=
l their program, but whether it will be extended to new grades. In Philadel=
phia, Superintendent Vallas has announced plans to begin an aggressive clas=
s size reduction program through 9th grade. In Florida, where the voters la=
st fall overwhelmingly passed a constitutional amendment to limit class size=
, state officials are going ahead with reducing class size in all grades, w=
ith the only disagreement over details of the measure's implementation. Sim=
ilarly, in California, there is no proposal to eliminate or even reduce stat=
e funding for smaller classes, despite a budget shortfall even larger than o=
urs.
Indeed, other states are still committed to reducing class size in their sch=
ools, because their elected officials recognize that smaller classes are th=
eir highest educational priority and the most effective way to improve stude=
nt achievement in their schools.=20
In case you didn't go yesterday, and you haven't done so yet, please call yo=
ur elected officials today to give them the same message. For instructions=20=
on how to do so, just go to my website at http://www.classsizematters.org/wh=
atyoucando.html =20
And check out Channel 7 local news tonight, which is supposed to run another=
story on the great strides made by PS 20.
thanks,
Leonie Haimson
Class Size Matters
124 Waverly Pl.
New York, NY 10011
212-674-7320
[email protected]
www.classsizematters.org
ON EDUCATION=20
Little-Known Jewel of Lower East Side
By MICHAEL WINERIP
The New York Times
March 26, 2003
PUBLIC SCHOOL 20 on the Lower East Side of Manhattan is one of the poorest e=
lementary schools in America (99 percent free lunches), but also one of the=20=
most thrilling. Many of the children live in tenements, come from broken hom=
es, move from apartment to apartment. Yet they made so much improvement on t=
heir state test scores in the last four years (from 27 percent reading at gr=
ade level to 51 percent) that the state education commissioner himself sent=20=
a special letter commending their braininess.
Cheng Liu, a fourth grader who was in three schools before P.S. 20, noticed=20=
the difference right away. "This school has lots of teachers," he says. "Lik=
e music, like art, like computer, and there's speech and dance and even more=
I can't think of."=20
When Dario Gonzalez, a shy boy, arrived in September, he was surprised that=20=
this was a school where the fourth-grade teacher had time to talk to him per=
sonally. "Before, I don't know how to organize my stuff, I don't really know=
how to write a paragraph or anything, they don't tell me that stuff," he sa=
ys. "Miss Torres told me how to put in one idea, about punctuation, everythi=
ng like that."
Ronald Moran knew he wasn't reaching his potential, because his sixth-grade=20=
teacher, Jerry Kerne, told him. "I should have 80's because my teacher said.=
He had high expectations for me. Everybody did." Yet Ronald was getting 60'=
s and worse. "My vocabulary tests, 50's." Ronald likes Mr. Kerne a lot. "He=20=
gives you a lot of chances. He don't scream so much." But for reasons no one=
could explain, in class Ronald was angry, edgy, impatient.
Fortunately, at P.S. 20 there are extra adults around to help a classroom te=
acher. It was the music teacher, Willie Mack, who unlocked Ronald. A trumpet=
was the key. Ronald took lessons at school, and Mr. Mack gave him a trumpet=
to take home. After school now, Ronald slips into the fifth-floor stairwell=
leading to the roof of his building and practices "One Note Samba."=20
"If I'm doing some wrong stuff, I take the trumpet and it eases me," Ronald=20=
says. "I can use the trumpet to release me." Lately, people around P.S. 20 h=
ave noticed, Ronald's a new Moran. "I started learning to take things more e=
asy," he says. "Instead of 50's and 60's, I'm getting 80's - 70's, the lowes=
t."
P.S. 20 is one of those little-known jewels of the New York City public scho=
ol system, although the people who make their living delivering quality educ=
ation to poor children know. Jack Welch, the former chairman of General Elec=
tric with the big-bucks lifestyle, may get front-page news coverage for help=
ing the city with its new principals' training institute. But with no press=20=
coverage at all, P.S. 20's principal of 26 years, Dr. Leonard Golubchick (Dr=
. G) recently attracted 45 principals from all over the city to his school f=
or a daylong seminar on how it's really done.
Dr. G talks about how he finds extra local, state and federal money to hire=20=
additional teachers and integrate the arts into the curriculum, thereby avoi=
ding mindless drilling, captivating even wiggly little boys like Cheng, Dari=
o and Ronald, improving their language skills and raising test scores.=20
He talks about the grants he found to hire two dozen substitutes and free hi=
s classroom teachers for a daylong reading seminar by P.S. 20's full-time li=
teracy specialist, Jan Colucci. He gave the 45 principals a tour of the Lear=
ning Fair that his children worked on for two months, featuring computerized=
PowerPoint presentations on famous New Yorkers, New York architecture and t=
he new designs for the World Trade Center site.
But of all the tricks he's learned, by far the most important is reducing cl=
ass size. "The first line of defense," he preaches. "My philosophy is you ca=
n't have a good education with 30 to 35 per classroom." It is no coincidence=
, he says, that P.S. 20's test scores have gone up since 1999, the first yea=
r of a state program that provided $140 million to reduce classroom size in=20=
elementary grades across the state.=20
Before the legislation, two-thirds of New York City children in Grades K-3 w=
ere in classes of more than 25; now one-quarter are. This was badly needed i=
n New York, which has the 10th-largest elementary-class sizes among the 50 s=
tates.
Sadly, the best education reform Dr. G has seen in 38 years as an educator i=
s about to be killed. Like most states, New York is facing harsh economic ti=
mes, with little hope of help from a federal government that also has a war=20=
to fight. Gov. George E. Pataki says he has no choice but to kill the class-=
size program. And he is not alone. In flush times, 32 states passed class-si=
ze legislation; now many, including Florida and California, are moving to ro=
ll it back.
Who cares?=20
Joan Kane, a fifth-grade teacher who has 26 students but used to have 35. "T=
he difference?" she says. "I know the kids. I know what to do for them. With=
35, I tried, but I got overwhelmed."
City Districts Show Gains in Series of School Tests
By GREG WINTER
The New York Times
March 26, 2003
Buttressed by smaller classes, longer school days and mounting pressure for=20=
accountability in public education, the nation's largest urban school distri=
cts have made significant gains on statewide assessment exams, often improvi=
ng faster than their rural and suburban counterparts, a new study has found.
The study was conducted by the Council of Great City Schools, a coalition of=
the nation's 59 largest urban districts, and tracked math and reading score=
s by grade, typically over five years.
In math, 87 percent of grades in the big-city districts posted gains on asse=
ssment exams by 2002. Fewer than 12 percent lost ground in math scores, the=20=
study found. Forty-four percent improved faster than the state averages for=20=
each grade level.=20
In reading, where progress has long proved elusive for urban and suburban di=
stricts alike, results were similar. Nearly 72 percent of grades in the big=20=
urban districts did better on their assessment tests, while 23 percent slipp=
ed in reading. As with the math scores, 47 percent did better than the state=
's average.=20
"What was clear is that there was no one thing that got these results, excep=
t to say that it was the relentless and sustained focus that these districts=
had on improving student achievement," said Michael Casserly, the council's=
executive director.=20
Among the factors that may have contributed, Mr. Casserly said, is the movem=
ent toward somewhat smaller schools with more manageable student-to-teacher=20=
ratios.=20
In the 1995-1996 school year, for instance, big-city schools had an average=20=
of 729 students, roughly 42 percent more than the national average, with an=20=
average of 18.2 pupils per class. By the 2000-2001 term, those schools had s=
hrunk to an average of 710 students with 17.1 pupils a class, still larger t=
han the national average but nearer the smaller size that many educators dee=
m essential to academic achievement.
The council described such findings as encouraging because urban districts o=
ften bear the brunt of public criticism, stated or implied, about educationa=
l deficiencies and the need to rectify them. Indeed, just as the study showe=
d significant progress among big-city districts, it also demonstrated the de=
gree to which they still trailed wealthier suburban ones.
For example, only seven major city districts - less than 13 percent of those=
studied - posted average math scores in at least half of their grades that=20=
were the same or higher than state averages. The same figure applied to read=
ing exams, the council said.
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<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2><STRONG>News on the class size=20
front:</STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>From all accounts, lobby day went well in A=
lbany=20
yesterday, with hundreds of parents from NYC asking their State Legislators=20=
to=20
restore the Governor's huge cuts to education, and particularly to restore h=
is=20
proposed elimination of all funds for pre-K and smaller=20
classes. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT>&=
nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>In today's New York Times, there is a=20
terrific column by Michael Winerip about PS 20 on the Lower East Side,=20
which has vastly improved because of smaller classes. Also there's an=20
interesting article on how urban school districts across the country have ra=
ised=20
student achievement, in large part because of class size reduction. Both of=20
these I include below.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Indeed, these two articles underscore=20=
how=20
critical the need is to continue investing in smaller classes here in N=
ew=20
York, despite Governor Pataki's proposal to cancel all state=20
funding for the program. <FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>According=20
to Education Week, thirty two states across the country now have their=20=
own=20
class size reduction programs, and not a single Governor other tha=
n=20
ours has actually suggested eliminating their=20
funding. </FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2><FONT fa=
ce=3DArial size=3D2></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>For example, in=
North=20
Carolina, Governor Easley just reconfirmed his intention to expand thei=
r=20
state class size reduction program. In Georgia, there is=20
a battle between the Governor and the Legislature over not whether to=20
cancel their program, but whether it will be extended to new grades.&nb=
sp;=20
In Philadelphia, Superintendent Vallas has announced plans to begin an=
=20
aggressive class size reduction program through 9th grade. In=20
Florida, where the voters last fall overwhelmingly passed a constitutio=
nal=20
amendment to limit class size , state officials are going ahe=
ad=20
with reducing class size in all grades, with the only disagreement=
=20
over details of the measure's implementation. </FONT><FONT face=3DAria=
l size=3D2>Similarly, in California, there is no proposal to eliminate or=20=
even=20
reduce state funding for smaller classes, despite a budget shortfall ev=
en=20
larger than ours.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Indeed, other <FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>states are still committed to=
=20
reducing class size in their schools, because their elected=20
officials recognize that smaller classes are their highest educational=20
priority and the most effective way to improve student achievement in their=20
schools. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>In case you didn't go yesterday,=20=
and you=20
haven't done so yet, please call your elected officials today to g=
ive=20
them the same message. For instructions on how to do so, just go to my=
=20
website at <A href=3D"http://www.classsizematters.org/whatyoucando.html">h=
ttp://www.classsizematters.org/whatyoucando.html</A><FONT face=3DArial siz=
e=3D2> </FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT></FONT>&=
nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>And check out C=
hannel 7=20
local news tonight, which is supposed to run another story on the great=
=20
strides made by PS 20.</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>thanks,</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Leonie Haimson<BR>Class Size Matters<BR>124 Waverly Pl.<BR>New York, NY=
=20
10011<BR>212-674-7320<BR><A href=3D"mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]<=
/A><BR><A href=3D"http://www.classsizematters.org">www.classsizematters.or=
g</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman"><STRONG><FON=
T color=3D#666666>ON EDUCATION</NYT_KICKER><NYT_HEADLINE version=3D"1.0" =20=
type=3D" "></FONT></STRONG><FONT size=3D3> </FONT></FONT></DIV>
<H2>Little-Known Jewel of Lower East Side</H2>
<DIV></NYT_HEADLINE><NYT_BYLINE version=3D"1.0" type=3D" "><FONT size=3D-1><=
STRONG>By=20
MICHAEL WINERIP</STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG>The New York Times</STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG>March 26, 2003</STRONG><BR><BR></DIV></NYT_BYLINE><!--plsfield:=
TEXT--><NYT_TEXT>
<P>PUBLIC SCHOOL 20 on the Lower East Side of Manhattan is one of the poores=
t=20
elementary schools in America (99 percent free lunches), but also one of the=
=20
most thrilling. Many of the children live in tenements, come from broken hom=
es,=20
move from apartment to apartment. Yet they made so much improvement on their=
=20
state test scores in the last four years (from 27 percent reading at grade l=
evel=20
to 51 percent) that the state education commissioner himself sent a special=20
letter commending their braininess.</P>
<P>Cheng Liu, a fourth grader who was in three schools before P.S. 20, notic=
ed=20
the difference right away. "This school has lots of teachers," he says. "Lik=
e=20
music, like art, like computer, and there's speech and dance and even more I=
=20
can't think of." </P>
<P>When Dario Gonzalez, a shy boy, arrived in September, he was surprised th=
at=20
this was a school where the fourth-grade teacher had time to talk to him=20
personally. "Before, I don't know how to organize my stuff, I don't really k=
now=20
how to write a paragraph or anything, they don't tell me that stuff," he say=
s.=20
"Miss Torres told me how to put in one idea, about punctuation, everything l=
ike=20
that."</P>
<P>Ronald Moran knew he wasn't reaching his potential, because his sixth-gra=
de=20
teacher, Jerry Kerne, told him. "I should have 80's because my teacher said.=
He=20
had high expectations for me. Everybody did." Yet Ronald was getting 60's an=
d=20
worse. "My vocabulary tests, 50's." Ronald likes Mr. Kerne a lot. "He gives=20=
you=20
a lot of chances. He don't scream so much." But for reasons no one could=20
explain, in class Ronald was angry, edgy, impatient.</P>
<P>Fortunately, at P.S. 20 there are extra adults around to help a classroom=
=20
teacher. It was the music teacher, Willie Mack, who unlocked Ronald. A trump=
et=20
was the key. Ronald took lessons at school, and Mr. Mack gave him a trumpet=20=
to=20
take home. After school now, Ronald slips into the fifth-floor stairwell lea=
ding=20
to the roof of his building and practices "One Note Samba." </P>
<P>"If I'm doing some wrong stuff, I take the trumpet and it eases me," Rona=
ld=20
says. "I can use the trumpet to release me." Lately, people around P.S. 20 h=
ave=20
noticed, Ronald's a new Moran. "I started learning to take things more easy,=
" he=20
says. "Instead of 50's and 60's, I'm getting 80's =97 70's, the lowest."</P>
<P>P.S. 20 is one of those little-known jewels of the New York City public=20
school system, although the people who make their living delivering quality=20
education to poor children know. Jack Welch, the former chairman of <ORG i=
dsrc=3D"NYSE" value=3D"GE">General Electric</ORG> with the big-bucks lifesty=
le, may=20
get front-page news coverage for helping the city with its new principals'=20
training institute. But with no press coverage at all, P.S. 20's principal o=
f 26=20
years, Dr. Leonard Golubchick (Dr. G) recently attracted 45 principals from=20=
all=20
over the city to his school for a daylong seminar on how it's really done.</=
P>
<P>Dr. G talks about how he finds extra local, state and federal money to hi=
re=20
additional teachers and integrate the arts into the curriculum, thereby avoi=
ding=20
mindless drilling, captivating even wiggly little boys like Cheng, Dario and=
=20
Ronald, improving their language skills and raising test scores. </P>
<P>He talks about the grants he found to hire two dozen substitutes and free=
his=20
classroom teachers for a daylong reading seminar by P.S. 20's full-time lite=
racy=20
specialist, Jan Colucci. He gave the 45 principals a tour of the Learning Fa=
ir=20
that his children worked on for two months, featuring computerized PowerPoin=
t=20
presentations on famous New Yorkers, New York architecture and the new desig=
ns=20
for the World Trade Center site.</P>
<P>But of all the tricks he's learned, by far the most important is reducing=
=20
class size. "The first line of defense," he preaches. "My philosophy is you=20
can't have a good education with 30 to 35 per classroom." It is no coinciden=
ce,=20
he says, that P.S. 20's test scores have gone up since 1999, the first year=20=
of a=20
state program that provided $140 million to reduce classroom size in element=
ary=20
grades across the state. </P>
<P>Before the legislation, two-thirds of New York City children in Grades K-=
3=20
were in classes of more than 25; now one-quarter are. This was badly needed=20=
in=20
New York, which has the 10th-largest elementary-class sizes among the 50=20
states.</P>
<P>Sadly, the best education reform Dr. G has seen in 38 years as an educato=
r is=20
about to be killed. Like most states, New York is facing harsh economic time=
s,=20
with little hope of help from a federal government that also has a war to fi=
ght.=20
Gov. George E. Pataki says he has no choice but to kill the class-size progr=
am.=20
And he is not alone. In flush times, 32 states passed class-size legislation=
;=20
now many, including Florida and California, are moving to roll it back.</P>
<P>Who cares? </P>
<P>Joan Kane, a fifth-grade teacher who has 26 students but used to have 35.=
=20
"The difference?" she says. "I know the kids. I know what to do for them. Wi=
th=20
35, I tried, but I got overwhelmed."</P>
<P></P>
<H2>City Districts Show Gains in Series of School Tests</H2>
<DIV><FONT size=3D-1><STRONG>By GREG WINTER</STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG>The New York Times</STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG>March 26, 2003</STRONG><BR><BR></DIV></NYT_BYLINE><!--plsfield:=
TEXT--><NYT_TEXT>
<P>Buttressed by smaller classes, longer school days and mounting pressure f=
or=20
accountability in public education, the nation's largest urban school distri=
cts=20
have made significant gains on statewide assessment exams, often improving=20
faster than their rural and suburban counterparts, a new study has found.</P=
>
<P>The study was conducted by the Council of Great City Schools, a coalition=
of=20
the nation's 59 largest urban districts, and tracked math and reading scores=
by=20
grade, typically over five years.</P>
<P>In math, 87 percent of grades in the big-city districts posted gains on=20
assessment exams by 2002. Fewer than 12 percent lost ground in math scores,=20=
the=20
study found. Forty-four percent improved faster than the state averages for=20=
each=20
grade level. </P>
<P>In reading, where progress has long proved elusive for urban and suburban=
=20
districts alike, results were similar. Nearly 72 percent of grades in the bi=
g=20
urban districts did better on their assessment tests, while 23 percent slipp=
ed=20
in reading. As with the math scores, 47 percent did better than the state's=20
average. </P>
<P>"What was clear is that there was no one thing that got these results, ex=
cept=20
to say that it was the relentless and sustained focus that these districts h=
ad=20
on improving student achievement," said Michael Casserly, the council's=20
executive director. </P>
<P>Among the factors that may have contributed, Mr. Casserly said, is the=20
movement toward somewhat smaller schools with more manageable student-to-tea=
cher=20
ratios. </P>
<P>In the 1995-1996 school year, for instance, big-city schools had an avera=
ge=20
of 729 students, roughly 42 percent more than the national average, with an=20
average of 18.2 pupils per class. By the 2000-2001 term, those schools had=20
shrunk to an average of 710 students with 17.1 pupils a class, still larger=20=
than=20
the national average but nearer the smaller size that many educators deem=20
essential to academic achievement.</P>
<P>The council described such findings as encouraging because urban district=
s=20
often bear the brunt of public criticism, stated or implied, about education=
al=20
deficiencies and the need to rectify them. Indeed, just as the study showed=20
significant progress among big-city districts, it also demonstrated the degr=
ee=20
to which they still trailed wealthier suburban ones.</P>
<P>For example, only seven major city districts =97 less than 13 percent of=20=
those=20
studied =97 posted average math scores in at least half of their grades that=
were=20
the same or higher than state averages. The same figure applied to reading=20
exams, the council said.<BR></P></FONT></DIV>
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