Bonus Pay for Teachers?

From McPherson comes a step in the right direction Superintendent Dr. Randy Watson made an informal proposal for three possible means of instituting bonus pay:

The first area of the plan seeks to compensate teachers and coaches for honors earned such as Teacher of the Year or Coach of the Year. One case that Watson said would fit the criteria perfectly was when industrial arts teacher Arlan Penner received a Teacher of the Year award from SkillsUSA.

The plan could also compensate an entire school’s staff if student-testing results for that school reach a certain level such as Standards of Excellence on statewide assessment tests. Last year every school in the district reached a Standard of Excellence on at least one assessment test, according to Watson.

The final area is for a department or grade-level bonus plan for areas that excel such as a third-grade class or science department.

Watson seems to be on the right track:

“When we get into the dollar amounts, businesses are tied into the profits they make but school districts don’t make a profit. Here we would measure success by student achievement, which unfortunately is not tied at a state level to the amount of money you receive,” Watson said.

Source: USD 418 school board considers bonus pay for teachers, McPherson Sentinel, September 25. 2007

Brooks Makes His Case

USD 259’s superintendent gets back-to-back opportunities to make the case for increasing the public’s burden, in the form of two articles in the Wichita Eagle.

First comes the September 5 article “Brooks: Schools making progress but need more resources,” by Jill Cohan.

The article is about a presentation that Superintendent Winston Brooks made before Mayor Carl Brewer and other community leaders. “Our progress has been pretty remarkable considering our challenges,” he said.

Brooks said revamping the district’s agreement on busing for integration, reducing class sizes to meet the state average, and the need to upgrade deteriorating athletic facilities are the key issues his administration hopes to address in the coming year.

Though Cohan reports that “Brooks was careful to say ‘this is not a bond issue pitch,’” it’s hard to see how it can be otherwise. That’s especially when you read “If the district is to improve further, it needs community support, Brooks said.”

Support can come in many forms, but to a school administrator, the most obvious form is cold, hard cash. Sounds like a sales pitch, doesn’t it?

The second article, Brooks: Busing, class size key issues, comes on September 6. It’s also by Cohan. The article is mostly a redo of the September 5 article, with a few additions involving the move to dismantle the forced busing program.

If busing for integration ended, Brooks said many of the formerly bused black students wouldn’t have neighborhood schools to attend. Some parents also depend on the district’s buses to get their kids to school, he said. The end of busing also might mean taking unpopular steps such as changing magnet schools to neighborhood schools, he said.

The busing agreement only affects black and white students, Brooks added, but Hispanic students now make up 22 percent of Wichita students, most in the core of the city. The district needs to develop solutions to accommodate that growth, he said.

“If we’re talking about separate but unequal, the last thing you want to do is put 40 or 50 non-English-speaking Latinos in a classroom in central Wichita…. It would be the greatest travesty this community could ever do.”

So the solution may be … build more schools? It’s amazing how one solution to a problem leads to other problems.

Get ready for a building campaign:

Existing schools — including Stucky Middle School and Irving and Park elementary schools — already are at or over capacity, Brooks said. At the same time, the northeast and southeast parts of the district will need new schools soon.

Wichita also would like to bring its class sizes down to the state average — 15 students per class for elementary schools, 18 for middle schools and 22 for high schools. It would need to add 800 classrooms to the 2,400 it already has.

This despite the fact that class-size reduction efforts are very expensive, and have minimal effects. (The most famous experiment, Project STAR, produced lasting but minimal effects, especially when you consider that no pre-test was administered.)

How important are athletics? Important enough for a tax increase?

An assessment in 1999 identified about $500 million worth of improvements needed in the district, Brooks said. The 2000 bond issue took care of many, but did little to address athletics and arts facilities.

Now, fields and fine arts classrooms are “embarrassing” compared to some of Wichita’s neighbors, Brooks said.

Some poorly endowed schools in other cities are doing just fine academically, even if they lack state-of-the-art gymnasiums. What’s the priority?

On the “not a bond issue pitch” tour, Brooks gave another prediction of the need for other school buildings:

The district is using some of its $24 million capital outlay funds to make improvements at Earhart Environmental Magnet Elementary and to fund a K-8 International Baccalaureate magnet school being built near 25th North and Grove, Brooks said. But a new high school the district would like to build in the northeast part of the city could cost $40 million.”You cannot use capital outlay money to build and fix the needs that we have,” he said.

Brooks ended the pitch by asking people to shore up the institution:

As he concluded his remarks, Brooks said Wichitans should care about public schools whether or not they have students enrolled because the district educates more of the city’s population than any other institution.

Some community members may not subscribe to his vision, he said, but a strong education system is part of the reason Money Magazine named Wichita among the Top 10 places to live.

Two thoughts here: education is indeed important, but it can be delivered through many ways. USD 259 represents one approach. It works for some, but it should not be expected to be the only model. Finally, “a strong education system” includes privately run schools, home schools, and public charter schools. Unfortunately, these other parts of the education system get short shrift these days.

Bel Aire Joins Wichita

The City of Bel Aire is moving lock, stock and barrel into USD 259. At least if the City Council has its way. The city’s land had been split between USD259 Wichita and USD 375 Circle, but the Council has voted to support a move all city land to USD 259.

The Ark City News set the stage on September 14 (“Families want to maintain school choice in Bel Aire”)

Officials with USD 259 last month asked city leaders if they would support transferring more than 10 square miles of land in the northeast part of the county from the Circle school district into their district. Recent annexations have pushed Bel Aire’s city limits eastward, dividing the city between the two districts. Bel Aire’s west side is in USD 259, but the lesser-developed east side is in USD 375. This portion, however, is expected to see rapid growth in the next few years.

USD 259 has expressed interest in constructing a middle school and possibly a high school in Bel Aire.

But … their interest would be heightened if they had all of Bel Aire.

Residents were divided on whether having two districts or one is a better idea:

For Connell, keeping the boundaries between the two districts as they are is about choices.

Versus:

“Having schools in Bel Aire is a critical factor to create that common ground for residents,” Bruckner said. “Community development leads to economic development.”

Common ground can exist outside of schools, can it not? Scouts, sports leagues, churches, and many other organizations give us a chance to find common ground. And our ability to have choices … is another common ground.

USD 259 says don’t accuse us of being predatory. From a letter to the Wichita Eagle, September 2. Here’s a portion of what COO Martin Libhart wrote:

The Eagle reported on a discussion between the city of Bel Aire and the Wichita school district concerning the possibility of changing district boundary lines between USD 259 and USD 375 (“Wichita district wants land in Bel Aire,” Aug. 22 Eagle). While the report correctly represented the information presented during the meeting, it failed to clearly state that the Wichita school district made the presentation to the Bel Aire City Council at the request of that city’s governing body. This distinction is important. It is not the practice of the Wichita district to pursue the acquisition of property from neighboring school districts.

From KSN.com, news of the city council vote:

The Bel Aire City Council has voted to approve changing school district boundaries — putting the entire town under the Wichita School District, USD 259, and taking some students away from the Circle School District.

The Tuesday evening vote was 4-1 with one abstaining.

There were several opponents of the move that spoke out at Tuesday night’s council meeting. And council members also discussed how difficult the decision was. But in the end they said they voted on what they thought was best for Bel Aire, not necessarily what was best for the school districts.

Another article (“Bel Aire Supports USD 259) from the Ark Valley News:

After more than a month of discussions, debates and presentations from both sides regarding a proposal to include all of Bel Aire in the Wichita school district (USD 259), the council was ready to make its decision during the Sept. 18 city council meeting. But residents were given one last chance to offer their opinions. In the packed council chambers, about 10 residents did just that.

Like previous meetings and a resident-organized town hall the night before, some spoke in favor of changing the school district boundaries to place all of the corporate limits of Bel Aire in one district, while others were opposed. Some called for the council to delay the vote again so the proposal could be examined more. The matter was tabled during the Sept. 4 council meeting.

Ultimately, though, the council voted 4-1, with Gary Breault opposed, to adopt a resolution supporting the boundary change.

Now, it is up to the USD 259 school board to petition the Circle school board to transfer the land in its district that is within the city limits of Bel Aire to Wichita public schools. Currently, no residents live in the eastern portion of Bel Aire that lies inside the Circle boundary. [Emphasis added]

On the plus side, no students will actually have to change schools as a result of the decision.

The move was prompted in part by plans of USD 259 to build a new school in a portion of Bel Aire.

The Wichita school district has proposed building an elementary school and a high school in Bel Aire, while Circle has passed a bond issue to build a roughly 350-student elementary school near Beal Aire, along Greenwich Road, between 37th and 45th streets.

Some students will still have a choice:

If the boundary is changed, parents will still have the option to send their kids to other schools. Often, the amount of available space at a particular school is a determining factor for allowing out-of-district students.

But there’s no guarantee. So what could have been a good situation–two districts to choose from–won’t be.

The mayor says that he endorses the change as a way to get the city its own school buildings. From the Wichita Eagle: “Mayor Harold Smith said he was convinced that the move gives the city the best chance of someday having its own elementary, middle and high schools.” (Bel Aire Council picks USD 259, August 19).

Yep, We’re Still Here

If you’re interested in education policy in Kansas, don’t worry. We’ve been busy with other projects of late, but the KansasEducation blog will start receiving updates this week.

Ag Charter School Opens

We think that Kansas law is unnecessarily restrictive on charter schools. So much more could happen if visionary people were given a better policy climate.

A peek at what might happen comes to us in Harvey County:

WALTON, Kansas, Sept. 21, 2007 — With so many family farms struggling to survive, more young people are choosing careers outside agriculture. Now a new Kansas charter school is teaching the next generation how technology can not only make country living possible, but profitable.

As more than 100 elementary students head into school in Walton, they will actually spend little time behind a desk. Their classroom is the countryside of Harvey County. A walk in the fresh air starts their day and every subject they study ties into agriculture — now in the computer age.

The computer age tools used in the school include GPS, and math easily finds its way into the curriculum. Entrepreneurial abilities get a nod, too. But there’s not much of a web presence for the Walton 21st Century Rural Life Elementary.,

Source: Rural school promotes agricultural education, KSN-TV

Unity or Plurality? Bel Aire and Wichita

The question of whether all of Bel Aire will be within USD 259 or split between that district and USD 375 Circle turns on several points, as made clear in this article from the September 16 Wichita Eagle. First, though, the city’s public school enrollment is split, 130 for Circle, 820 for Wichita.

Wichita has talked about expanding. But how far?

The resolution before the City Council only suggests bringing the Bel Aire city limits into the Wichita district. But some residents are concerned Wichita schools will eventually push for larger boundaries, including land near Jabara Airport, where the Wichita district has expressed interest in building a technical magnet high school.

Then there’s competition-yet-no-competition between the districts:

Administrators for both districts say the issue shouldn’t be viewed as a case of one providing better schools than the other, but both have marshaled evidence of their districts’ strengths.

Circle and Wichita have since presented proposals for educating the young people of Bel Aire, though they insist they’re not in competition.

‘We are interested, obviously,’ Wichita superintendent Winston Brooks told business and community leaders this month.

It looks like, despite the no-competition theme, things got heated a while ago:

In January 2006, the two districts and Bel Aire’s city government started meeting to see if they could move the line half a mile in either direction, to avoid the possibility that a neighborhood would be split in half.

Those discussions became heated, and the council decided to remain neutral, said then-Mayor Brian Withrow.

Do school officials think with dollar signs in their eyes? You may wish that wasn’t the case, but they certainly aren’t immune:

Five thousand kids at $5,000 a head is $25 million,’ Brooks said, referring to a school-funding formula.

‘That’d be great revenue for us to have. I’m very interested in it. But we’re not in the business of taking over other districts’ territory. If they don’t want to do it, that’s fine with us. We’ll just educate the 49,000 (students) we already have.’

Both districts have made at least tentative plans for building in the area. One has already committed money:

Wichita will need to build schools in the northeast anyway, because of projected growth at Heights High School and Stucky Middle School, said chief operating officer Martin Libhart. The district is considering four sites in Bel Aire and the vicinity.

And also:

Last November, Circle voters approved an $18.8 million bond issue to build an elementary school at 29th North and Greenwich Road and to pay for other school improvements.

So far, the district has issued $10.8 million in bonds, said Superintendent Eliese Holt. People buying property in any area that was part of the Circle district when the bonds were issued — even if the land later changes districts –’would still be responsible for that bond taxation,’ Holt said.

Finally, what we find the most interesting, the question about the social function of schools:

Those in favor of the resolution say a boundary change will bring Bel Aire together as a community. They imagine Bel Aire families gathering at their local high school to cheer for the same team, instead of sending their kids to more than a dozen public and private high schools.

‘I think having neighborhood schools is important,’ said Mayor Harold Smith. ‘Part of that is community. And convenience is part of it.’

A real estate developer agrees:

Officials with Plaza Real Estate, which markets properties in Bel Aire, said unifying the city under one school district would help future development.

Plans call for building up to 1,500 homes in the area over the next 10 years, said John McKenzie, Plaza’s president and chief executive.

‘I think what will hurt development more than anything else is splitting neighborhoods and splitting that sense of community,’ McKenzie said. ‘People want their children growing up together and going to the same schools.’

On the other hand:

Jennifer Connell, a Bel Aire mother of two who sends her sons to Circle schools, said she sees the current division as a benefit for the city.

‘Why not have both districts building (schools) to support your kids?’ she asked. ‘You’d have the best of both worlds.’

Council member Gary Breault agrees with that sentiment:

Everything I’m hearing is that people don’t want to change,’ said Breault …. ‘They like the way it is, and they like the choice.’

Could some economic self-interest on the part of the city be at work? The former mayor says so:

The possibility that it could take months or years to resolve the boundary issue worries residents, including Withrow, the former mayor, who said he thinks the Bel Aire City Council favors the resolution because it is anxious to sell land.

Withrow said he also fears that while the issue is unresolved, developers will have a hard time selling property in Bel Aire.

For Bel Aire kids: unity or choice?: Two School Districts, One Community, Wichita Eagle, September 16.

AYP Again

On September 11, the KSDE released its preliminary report of who was naughty and nice, or more accurately, which schools did not make AYP and which did not. Of those who did not, Wichita schools were tripped up by the reading requirement.

“Of Wichita’s schools, 37 — more than one-third — were on the ‘needing improvement’ list released Tuesday.” The district itself was on the list. (The law applies to schools and to districts.)

Superintendent Brooks made what appeared to be strange comments in response:

If subgroups weren’t taken into account, the district would have met all targets, Brooks said.

“I expressed my frustration to (the state Department of Education) recently because they were saying that of the almost 300 districts in the state, only 30-some didn’t meet AYP,” Brooks told the Wichita school board Monday. “That’s spinning data to make the 30 of us that didn’t make it look like dopes. Those of us that didn’t have subgroups.”

What’s odd? First, the concern about the reputation of the school officials. Look like dopes? Shouldn’t the greater concern be whether children are learning? As for subgroups, well, yes, the measurement of different demographic groups–whites, blacks, low-income, etc.–is part and parcel of the law. “No Child,” you might say, means “no child regardless of his subgroup.”

Granted, NCLB is a blunt instrument:

looking at the target scores only for a single year doesn’t give an accurate picture, said Diane Gross, Haysville’s assistant superintendent for instructional services. The district’s performance has generally improved in the past four years, she said, as has the graduation rate and the average ACT scores for Haysville high school students.”I don’t think an AYP report gives you all of the information you need to make judgments about schools,” she said.

“All the research will tell you that you need multiple data points to understand the kind of education kids are getting.”

Multiple data points is one reason why longitudinal analysis (student growth models) is useful. But NCLB does take some changes over time into account: additional “sanctions” are imposed on a school for each year it does not meet AYP.

Source: Some area schools fail to meet state goals, Wichita Eagle, September 12.

Flint Hills on Consolidation

The Garden City Telegram (“Consolidation not likely option for crowding,” 9/5/07) referenced our work on school district consolidation.

Here’s how it starts: “Even if USD 457 found a nearby school district that wanted to consolidate — which is unlikely, according to several nearby superintendents — it probably wouldn’t solve the facility problems Garden City High School is facing, members of a study group said Tuesday night.”

It then talks about the mechanics of consolidation–it would require sending up to 500 students to another school district, perhaps straining their facilities–and mentions that would-be candidates are not interested.

The article drops in our own concerns: “

“In a report from the Flint Hills Center for Public Policy, a Kansas-based nonprofit think tank, policy fellow John LaPlante wrote that proponents favor consolidation because they see it as a cost-saving measure. Additional arguments are that it can provide a greater base for specialized offerings and that teacher pay can be higher in a larger, better-funded district, he wrote.

However, the plan doesn’t necessarily save a lot of money, and it can cause harm by reducing the amount of competition between schools, he wrote.”

If you’d like to see our report, you can find it (PDF) here.

There are other options for addressing the problems of bursting-at-capacity, including private/public partnerships for new facilities and giving some students the opportunity to attend virtual schools, which require few bricks-and-mortal projects.

Are Kansas Test Scores Inflated?

Under No Child Left Behind, schools are supposed to move all students to “proficient.” But under the law, states have a lot of flexibility in defining what proficient means. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) suggests that some states have been guilty of grade inflation.

Kansas is one of them.

How does the grade inflation work? The NCES compares the results of the NAEP and the results of state tests. The NAEP, otherwise known as the “Nation’s  Report Card,” takes a sample from each state. Thus, it applies one standard across the country. If a state says that 80 percent of its students are proficient, but the NAEP says that only 20 percent are proficient, there’s a problem.

According to NCES numbers from 2005, for the median state,

• Fourth-grade reading proficiency was 77 percent on state tests–but only 30 percent on the NAEP.
• Eighth-grade reading proficiency was 72 percent on state tests–but only 28 percent on the NAEP
• Fourth-grade mathematics proficiency was 74 percent on state tests–but only 38 percent on the NAEP.
• Eighth-grade mathematics proficiency was 61 percent on state tests–but only 32 percent on the NAEP.

So where did Kansas fit? For the numbers that are available:

Fourth grade math: 85 percent proficient on the state test, but only 47 percent on the NAEP

Eighth grade reading: 78 percent on the state test, but only 35 percent on the NAEP.