District Administration - January 2007 - (Page 38)

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By 2008, 25 communities will use the program, calculating accurate dropout numbers and mobilizing all assets of the community, including not just big business but small stores and retired teachers. Community involvement could come in the way of setting up an after-school academy for students struggling with math. Local banks could set up a foundation for summer learning academies or pay for tutors. Coffee shops and local dry cleaners could put jars on counters to collect change for schools. Grocer y stores could also teach students the metric system and math conversion skills via food packages and cans of soup, making lessons tang ible to students. “The message is: do not wait on the federal government or the state or local board to invest in this,” Morse says. “For every nine seconds you wait, you’ve waited too long. We’ve been waiting 27 years since Nation at Risk and we have to do something and this is the year to do it.” a s well as learning disabilities and pedagogy, he adds. Orange County Public Schools uses the Ruby Payne training called A Framework for Understanding Poverty, which is also the name of Payne’s ﬁrst book. Helpful for educators dealing with students in poverty, who also tend to drop out the most, the lessons are based on learning the hidden rules that govern how people behave in their social class. The book also explores why students from generational poverty often fear being educated. In poverty, people are mainly driven by survival and relationships, and maintaining relationships can interfere with achievement. For example, attending college can mean giving up time with friends and family members, and this can elicit the fear of losing others. “This is difﬁcult for people in poverty because of the importance of relationships,” the training states, “Being there for someone is as important as having those people there for you.” To help such students stay motivated and inspired to go to college, administrators and teachers can treat them as problem solvers and not victims, and they can get to know them and celebrate every step. Make high school a federal priority by calling on Congress to invest $10 billion over the next decade to support dropout prevention programs and support states that make high school graduation compulsory. Proctor thinks $10 billion might be “understating” the problem. “I would say the intent is laudable but it would be a very complex task,” he says. “I would say how we do that needs to be much more sharply focused before we can just do it.” “In general, most states, I think, like local control so their educat ion is catered to the needs of the students in their states,” Marchma n says. Texas, unlike Idaho, for example, has to grapple with large numbers of migrant families, who move across the state in search of jobs, she notes. A nd although much of the NEA’s plan is pure common sense, it’s still not being implemented. “So somet i mes you have to hit people in the face with common sense,” Domenech says, “and say, ‘Let’s do it!’ ” DA 12. Angela Pascopella is senior features editor. Resources: The Civil Rights Project report, www.civilrightsproject.harvard.edu / research / dropouts / texas _10 -17- 0 6.pdf Learning to Finish, www.learningtoﬁnish.org National Governors Association report, www.nga.org/ Ruby Payne training, www.lecturemanagement.com /speakers /ruby- payne.htm The Silent Epidemic report, www.gatesfoundation.org/nr/downloads/ ed / TheSilentEpidemic3 - 0 6 FINAL Success Highways, www.scholarcentric.com/privacy.html Ensure educators have the necessary training and resources, including professional development focused on needs of diverse and at-risk students; the latest textbooks and computers; and safe, modern schools. “I see how much money the private sector spends on private employees to get training and be successful, and schools ought to do the same,” Domenech says. Teachers need training on cultural awareness 11. 38 January 2007 District Administration dropoutJP.indd 38 12/13/06 3:08:38 PM Warning : Unknown : The session id contains invalid characters, valid characters are only a-z, A-Z and 0-9 in Unknown on line 0 Warning : Unknown : Failed to write session data files . Please verify that the current setting of session.save_path is correct /var/lib/php/session in Unknown on line 0 http://www.civilrightsproject.harvard.edu/research/dropouts/texas_10-17-06.pdf http://www.learningtofinish.org http://www.nga.org/ http://www.lecturemanagement.com/speakers/ruby-payne.htm http://www.gatesfoundation.org/nr/downloads/ed/TheSilentEpidemic3-06FINAL http://www.gatesfoundation.org/nr/downloads/ed/TheSilentEpidemic3-06FINAL http://www.scholarcentric.com/privacy.html

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - January 2007

Contents
Editor's Letter
Update
Inside the Law
Curriculum Update
Administrator Profile
District Profile
Overheard on the Pulse...
Teaching Techniques for Supervisors
Why Buy New When Used Might Do?
Past Becomes Future
Financial Rescue
Speaking Out
The Online Edge
Research Corner
Problem/Solution
Computer Literature
New Products
Calendar of Events
Understanding the Times

District Administration - January 2007