Franklin Schargel’s Blog

The 2008 Republican Party Platform, as presented to the Republican convention is available at:

https://www.gop.com/pdf/PlatformFINAL_WithCover.pdf

The education section is on pages 43-46.  Here are some excerpts from it and following those, excerpts from a few other sections that address our issues.

It has no direct mention about NCLB.  It supports private school vouchers, home schooling, merit pay, and principals having authority over teacher assignment without regard to collective bargaining.  It does support full funding for IDEA. It also calls for a one-year freeze on all domestic discretionary spending programs.  It also supports voluntary school prayer and the right of faith-based organizations to receive federal funds and be able to discriminate on the basis of religion in hiring.

Education Means a More Competitive America

·       Education is a parental right, a state and local responsibility, and a national strategic interest.

·       We advocate policies and methods that are proven and effective: building on the basics, especially phonics; ending social promotion; merit pay for good teachers; classroom discipline; parental involvement; and strong leadership by principals.

·       We advocate policies and methods that are proven and effective: building on the basics, especially phonics; ending social promotion; merit pay for good teachers; classroom discipline; parental involvement; and strong leadership by principals.

·       We support state efforts to build coordination between elementary and secondary education and higher education such as K-16 councils and dual credit programs.

·       we support the English First approach and oppose divisive programs that limit students’ future potential.

·       School districts must have the authority to recruit, reward, and retain the best and brightest teachers, and principals must have the authority to select and assign teachers without regard to collective bargaining agreements.

·       Partnerships between schools and businesses can be especially important in STEM subjects: science, technology, engineering and math.

·       We support choice in education for all families, especially those with children trapped in dangerous and failing schools, whether through charter schools, vouchers or tax credits for attending faith-based or other nonpublic schools, or the option of home schooling.

·       We will energetically assert the right of students to engage in voluntary prayer in schools and to have equal access to school facilities for religious purposes.

·       We renew our call for replacing “family planning” programs for teens with increased funding for abstinence education, which teaches abstinence until marriage as the responsible and expected standard of behavior

·       We call for a review of Department of Education programs and administration to identify and eliminate ineffective programs, to respect the role of states, and to better meet state needs.

·       we support initiatives to block-grant more Department of Education funding to the states,

·       Because a federal mandate on the states must include the promised federal funding, we will fulfill the promise of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to cover 40 percent of the costs incurred because of that legislation.

·       We must ensure that our higher education system meet the needs of the 21st century student and economy and remain innovative and accessible.

·       While federal student loans and grants have opened doors to learning for untold numbers of low and middle-income students, the overall financial aid system, with its daunting forms and confused rationales, is nothing less than Byzantine. It must be simplified.

·       Distance learning propelled by an expanding telecommunications sector and especially broadband, is certain to grow in importance “” whether through public or private institutions “” and federal law should not discriminate against the latter.

·       Community colleges are central to the future of higher education, especially as they build bridges between the world of work and the classroom

·       We oppose the hiring, firing, tenure, and promotion practices at universities that discriminate on the basis of political or ideological belief.

·       We affirm the right of students and faculty to express their views in the face of the leftist dogmatism that dominates many institutions.

The Budget Process “” A Fraud that Guarantees Runaway Spending

·       We call for a one-year pause in nondefense, non-veterans discretionary spending to force a critical, cost-benefit review of all current programs.

·       We favor adoption of the Balanced Budget Amendment to require a balanced federal budget except in time of war.

Preserving the District of Columbia

·       Two major Republican initiatives “” a first-time D.C. homebuyers credit and a landmark school choice initiative “” have pointed the way toward a civic resurgence,

Protecting Union Workers

·       To protect workers from misuse of their funds, we will conscientiously enforce federal law requiring financial reporting and transparency by labor unions. We advocate paycheck protection laws to guard the integrity of the political process and the security of workers’ earnings.

Health Care Reform: Putting Patients First

·       Republicans support the private practice of medicine and oppose socialized medicine in the form of a government- run universal health care system.

·       To empower families, we must make insurance more affordable and more secure, and give employees the option of owning coverage that is not tied to their job.

Protecting Our Families

·       Bureaucracy is no longer a credible approach to helping those in need. This is especially true in light of alternatives such as faith-based organizations, which tend to have a greater degree of success than others in dealing with problems such as substance abuse and domestic violence. To accomplish their missions, those groups must be able to rely upon people who share their faith; their hiring must not be subjected to government regulation and mandates.

Preserving Our Values

·       Precisely because we oppose discrimination, we reject preferences, quotas, and set-asides, whether in education or in corporate boardrooms.

Safeguarding Religious Liberties

·       We support the right of students to engage in student-initiated, student-led prayer in public schools, athletic events, and graduation ceremonies, when done in conformity with constitutional standards.

·       We affirm every citizen’s right to apply religious values to public policy and the right of faith-based organizations to participate fully in public programs without renouncing their beliefs, removing religious objects or symbols, or becoming subject to government-imposed hiring practices.

The United States Department of Education data indicate that 16.6% of high school seniors leave school before graduation.  The Gates Foundation report, The Silent Epidemic indicates that the major reason for their leaving is boredom.

Many high school seniors have completed all or most of their core subjects and their staying in high school is simply “treading water.”  High schools need to provide reasons for students to stick around.

I suggest that many of these students should be encouraged to take courses that they would need in college.  High schools should link to colleges so that students can get “dual credit” for courses that they take in high school but need for colleges.

Co-op programs where students take courses in the morning and work in the afternoon provide opportunities for learning as well as opportunities to provide some income.

This is also the perfect time for students to gain skills in subjects that they would ordinarily not take like keyboarding or swimming.  A driver’s education course might be given only to high school seniors.  Advanced placement courses are another alternative for students.  Schools might also set up service learning programs so that seniors might connect the working world with the world of school.  Community assistance programs like “senior citizen escort programs” provide another possibility.  Having seniors read to hospital bound children or seniors in nursing homes provide both a intergenerational contact along with an opportunity for personal growth.

The town of Harrold, Texas made headlines when the district decided to allow some teachers bring concealed weapons to school.  This tiny town 180 miles from Dallas educates 100 students.  There are two dozen teachers.  But a lane highway runs through the town and the police did shut down a drug-producing laboratory near school property according to an article in USA Today.  The county sheriff’s office is 17 miles away and the district cannot afford to hire police officers.

Texas gun laws ban weapons on school property but the State Legislature allows school board to permit people with concealed handgun licenses to carry weapons.  Texas Governor Rick Perry supports the decision.

Exactly how dangerous are schools?  According to www.schoolsecurity.org there have been 2 shooting deaths in the 2008-2009 school year.  In the past 10 years there have been 117 shooting deaths – that averages 11 per year.  But the number has decreased in the past 3 years.

Do you think teachers should be allowed to carry guns on campus?  Do you feel that even though they have undergone training, they pose a threat to school safety?  Would you want to work in a school district that permitted teachers to carry guns?  Send your responses to [email protected]

Till next time.

There are a number of high profile School Chancellors/CEOs/Superintendents.  To name a few, there is Rudy Crew in Miami/Dade, Joel Klein in New York City, Paul Vallus in New Orleans and Michelle Rhee in Washington DC.  All of these individuals are responsible for dealing with school systems which are faced with enormous difficulties.

The Washington Post recently (8/25/2008) published a story on Ms. Rhee (www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2008/25) entitled, Better or Worse, It’s Rhee’s School System Now.

Ms. Rhee was hired by the mayor of Washington, Adrian M. Fenty and is directly responsible to him.  He has gone on record as staking his political future on fixing the schools in the District of Columbia.  A number of mayors have taken on the direct responsibility of fixing the schools in their cities with the belief that schools create jobs.  Mrs. Rhee has established as a goal for her administration to establish D.C. schools as “a world-class system.”  This will be a daunting task because of the following:

• According to a Manhattan Institute Report, November 2001, High School Graduation Rates in the United States, Washington DC schools graduated 59% of its high school class.
• USA Today reported on April, 1, 2008, that there were 2,364 dropouts in the 2007 graduating class or 58.2% of the class graduated.
• The 2007 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAED) reported that the Washington DC 4th and 8th grade scores were lower than any other students in the United States.
• Washington DC schools spend $14,400 per pupil.  That is more than any of the 50 states.

In order to improve the DC schools, Ms. Rhee “has closed 23 under-enrolled schools, overhauled 26 academically ailing schools and fired 150 people she considered poor performers including nearly 50 principals and assistant principals, most of them black women over the age of 40.” (Washington Post)

She has run into opposition from the teachers union, parent groups, the DC Council, and education activists.  Rhee, who is of Korean ancestry, has faced racial discrimination charges over the firings.  In addition, she has been criticized for not being responsive to the demands of parents and community representatives.  But according to the Washington Post article, she attended 370 community meetings.

Principals, work on year-to-year contracts, and according to Rhee were not rehired based on comments from parents, teachers and from reviews from her staff.

All heads of school systems, face enormous challenges, but if schools are not serving students, there needs to be some sort of immediate action taken.

Children in Washington, DC deserve to have their schools improve.

Each year since 1997, the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics publishes a report, America’s Children:  Key National Indicators of Well-Being.  The indicators are organized into seven sections, each focusing on a domain relevant to children’s lives:  Family and Social Environment, Economic Circumstances, Health Care, Physical Environment and Safety, Behavior, Education and Health. Copies of the report can be obtained  by contacting the agency at 1888/ASK-HRSA.  The report is also available on the World Wide Web: https://childstats.gov

In 2005, 60% of children ages 3-5 wee read to daily by a family member.  This represents an increase from 53% in 1993.  Not suprisingly, children in families with incomes of 200% or more  of the poverty threahold were more likely to be read to daily by a family member.

Average NAEP mathematics scores for 4th and 8th graders were higher in 2007 than in all previous assessments with a 39 percent of 4th graders and 32 percent of 8th graders at or above the Proficient level.

Average NAEP reading scores at the 4th grade increased 4 points (on a scale of 0-500)  between 1992 and 2007.  The bad news is at the 12th grade, 35 percent of students were at or above Proficient in 2005, 5 percentage points lower than in 1993.

In 2006, 88 percent of young adults ages 18-24 had completed high school with a diploma or an alternative credential such as a General Educational Development (GED) certificate.  Among White, non-Hispanics, the high school completion rate increase from 88 to 92 percent.  The rate of which Black, non-Hispanic youth completed high school increased from 75 percent to 83 percent between 1980 and 1990.  Among Hispanics, the high school completion rate increase from 57 percent in 1980 to 71 percent in 2006.

In 2006, 66 percent of high school completers entrolled immediately in a 2-year or 4-year college.

In Pennsylvania, Governor Ed Rendell has proposed an overhaul of the state’s funding system.  He has proposed that a district which has a higher cost of living receive more state aid than a district with a lower cost of living.

While this would appear logical, several questions need to be raised. If school district has difficulty employing teachers should they be punished by receiving less money?  Also, since living is cheaper where the population tends to be poorer, how will you help the district with its funding?

This new funding formula would simply exacerbate the situation.