US Science the best in the world

276 Nobel Prizes in Science: U.S. Science Education the World's Best

The United States leads the world in technology, scientific research and the quality of its scientists because U.S. science education is the world’s best. From 1950 to 2006 Americans have won 206 or 58% of the 357 Nobel Prizes awarded in Medicine, Physics and Chemistry. In October 2006, Americans were awarded all five of the Nobel Prizes for science achievement. The American winners are in Medicine: Andrew Z. Fire Stanford University and Greg C. Mello, U. of Massachusetts Medical School. Physics: John C. Mather NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and George C. Smoot University of California and Chemistry: Roger D. Kornberg Stanford University.

This is the second time Americans have made a complete sweep of Nobel science prizes, the first was in 1983.

Editorial Comment (sarcasm intended): Now...if Margaret Spellings can just get all American Universities to take more standardized science tests we will have even more Nobel prizes right?

10 Myths about school shootings

MSNBC provides a concise breakdown here of ten myths about school shootings.

School Violence

The tragedy of recent school shootings has left the impression that schools are more unsafe than ever before. Not so, reports a joint effort by the Bureau of Justice Statistics and National Center for Education Statistics.

Key report findings include:
(1) The violent crime victimization rate at school declined from 1992 to 2003.
(2) In the 2002-03 school year, there were 15 student homicides and 8 student suicides in the nation's schools, figures that translate to less than one homicide or suicide per million students
(3) In 2003, 5 percent of students ages 12 to 18 reported being victimized at school during the previous six months: 4 percent reported theft, while 1 percent said they were victims of a violent crime;
(4) In 2003, 21 percent of students reported that street gangs were present at their school during the previous six months;
(5) In 2003, 33 percent of high school students reported having been in a fight anywhere, and 13 percent said they had been in a fight on school property during the preceding 12 months; and (6) In 2003, students in urban schools were twice as likely as students in rural and suburban schools to fear being attacked at school or on the way to and from school.

I am not sure what the trends would say since 2003 - but even a few of these tragedies is a few too many.

The population is increasing so the number of events is bound to go up. Plus...the 24/7 news media makes one incident anywhere in the world seem like its right in your living room.

My big fear is that I see no way to make things safer in America without continuing to take away individual freedoms and liberty, infringing upon the open society that has made America the greatest nation in history.

So...what to do...

New Process for School Delay Decisions

Dragging these weary old bones out of a nice warm bed at 4:50AM when the Transportation Director calls and says it is snowy or foggy out can get old.

Maybe I will pilot my new decision making tool. I will put up this little device on the blog site and tally up the votes!

Come to think of it, that might be the only way to get a teenager up early...just tell them they get to vote on school delays!

What if there is a fog delay Monday?

Looking ahead to Monday:

If we have a 2-hour fog delay on Monday, we will not have the early release inservices for staff as currently scheduled.

This means students will have a regular school day on the 2 hour delay schedule if there is a fog delay Monday morning.

Should there be a national test?

Here is an interesting article by conservative Bill Bennett and former Education Secretary Rod Paige, titled, "Why there should be a national test."

I have been very public about my growing concerns about the overuse of standardized test data for ranking and rating schools in the media. But this doesn't mean I am against standardized testing. It has its place.

Bennett says in the article that some states have created easier tests than others.

You might find it interesting to know that Indiana's academic standards have been rated among the highest in the nation. Comparing our state's results to other states may not be fair.

He says America's federal government should create high national standards and a national test to go with it and then "Butt Out" of education.

Now that I might agree with.

Syracuse Youth Resource Center

Bowen Center has opened the Syracuse Youth Resource Center at the old Enchanted Hills Playhouse.

The facility is open to anyone between the ages of 4 and 17 years old and is open Monday-Friday after school until around 6:30 p.m.

Students who attend have a chance to receive homework help, participate in sports, receive cooking help, and participate in games, educational groups, and crafts.

The Wawascene clears 100,000 per month

The Wawascene is now averaging over 100,000 hits per month!

Thank you to everyone for staying in touch with educational issues at the local, regional and national level through The Wawascene.

The last 30 days we had 100,634 hits!

Making sense of it all..

I guess you can't really. My stomach turns over reading what happened in the little Amish School in Pennsylvania.

Article here for those who haven't seen it over and over.

Saturday Satire

Indiana Announces New Testing Program

Indiana Education officicals have announced a new standardized testing program that will go farther than any previous testing efforts in an attempt to hold schools accountable for student learning.

The testing efforts will begin before the student's birth and end with college graduation.

State Testing Director, I.M. NumBr Krunchr explained, "This is revolutionary! We will be testing parents before they are permitted to have children. They must pass a standardized parent test that will be used to predict their child's future success in school. This way we will be able to ensure that children are getting an optimum chance at success in school. There is no secret that certain parenting behaviors give students a better chance. We have correlated those behaviors to school success and created test questions that identify those core parenting values. Now the government will simply not allow those parents to birth children unless they can get a certain score."

Critics of the new program have accused the state of "draconian measures" to which I.M. Numbr Krunchr replied, "Hogwash, the business community is worried that we will fall behind China and they already limit parents to one child per couple. It's a global world now. We might as well go a step further."

The new test, which will be an on-line version using technology will be titled, "Indiana Statewide Test for Education and Pupil Proficiency Emphasizing Diplomas IN Instructional Technology (I. S.T.E.P.P.E.D IN I.T.)

Friday Football

More calls for standardized testing in college

A recent federal report is now calling for more "accountability" from universities and colleges, including a call for standardized testing.

I guess it was inevitable. But...aren't college students already tested enough?

Most professions already test their incoming people. Lawyers take the bar exam; Doctors pass their residencies and other exams; teachers take their NTE's and PRAXIS tests; accountants pass the CPA exam; cosmetologists take their state exams; airplane mechanics pass the Airframe and Powerplant tests; nurses take the nursing exams ...etc.

Presto... the magic answer to every educational issue ... another test.

More from Daniels on county tax boards

The Star continues in this article on the issue of county tax control boards.

Here is a quote and my comments:

Property tax rates in recent years have climbed for many homeowners statewide, in large part because school boards and other local agencies have greater and more expensive needs.

This is true in part. Yet absent from the discussion AGAIN is, "Where do these 'greater and more expensive needs' come from? I'll tell where much of it comes from...unfunded mandates from state and federal government, pushed down to the local school boards. Once again, the discussion deflects attention away from state and federal lawmakers who continually expand their influence and then push the responsibility to fund these laws to the local school boards.

Daniel's proposes tax control units

In this Indy Star article, Governor Daniels proposes "tax control units" whose job would be to control property taxes.

I don't know enough about how such a "control unit" would work to know whether or not it is a good idea. Like they say, "the devil is in the details."

However, I do take exception to Governor Daniels statement that towns, schools, and libraries etc. have "broad control" over their taxing capacities.

This seems like pure "pass the buck" political speak.

I can't speak for municipalities, towns and libraries, but I can speak on behalf of schools. Most schools do not have "broad control" over their property tax rates.

In actuality school boards do not "control" very much of the property tax rate at all especially when you consider the state and federal controls that exist over public schooling and the continual mandates that expand our mission.

How about a "de-control board" that actually returns local control to schools and school boards?

I thought Republicans used to stand for more local control and less state and federal control?

That is not what most of are seeing across America these days.

My .02.

2-Hour Delay on Monday, September 25th

Wawasee Community Schools is on a two-hour delay with the alternate kindergarten schedule today due to fog in our area. Drive safely!

Writing Matters

Students taking the new SAT exams have noticed that writing skills matter.

Students are even being asked to write short answers on unlikely subjects like Math and Science.

Article here.

Friday's Funnies

A small boy is sent to bed by his father. Five minutes later:
"Da-aad..."
"What?"
"I'm thirsty. Can you bring me a drink of water?"
"No, you had your chance. Lights out."
Five minutes later:
"Da-aad..."
"WHAT?"
"I'm THIRSTY. Can I have a drink of water?"
"I told you NO! If you ask again, I'm coming in to spank you!"
Five minutes later...
"Daaa-aaaad...When you come in to spank me, can you bring me a drink of water?"


One day the first grade teacher was reading the story of Chicken Little to her class.
She came to the part where Chicken Little warns the farmer.
She read, "...and Chicken Little went up to the farmer and said, "The sky is falling!"
The teacher then asked the class, "And what do you think the farmer said?"
One little girl raised her hand and said, "I think he said: Holy cow! A talking chicken!"
The teacher was unable to teach for the next 10 minutes.

What do you say to full day K?

Star likes it . (Just remember though, this is the same mathematically challenged editorial board that thinks 84% on a driver's test is more difficult than a 61% ISTEP cut-score. If they only would have had full-day K!!)

Gazette likes it but wants the guv to talk more about the benefits.

My prediction is that Wawasee won't see it for awhile because the first money will go to schools with higher free and reduced lunch counts.

Go Warriors beat Plymouth!

Have a great weekend!

Are their brains really different?

There is a growing number of researchers saying that our children's brains are indeed different.

Ask any teacher who has been in the business for 15 years or more and they will likely tell you that the students have changed. Yet the educational materials industry struggles to respond to these changes. Do kids really have short attention spans? I don't think so. Does your son or daughter play video games for hours on end? Is that a short attention span? I suspect the "new brains" just aren't easily captivated by a lecture ( no matter how passionate) about a speeding vehicle when they can simulate driving one in their NASCAR racing game, complete with making the car adjustments necessary to eke out every bit of speed from the vehicle. Think of the physics lessons there!

Most people believe that the fast paced, interactive world of MTV, video gaming, iPod's, cell phones, instant messaging, text messaging and connectivity have truly created differences in the way our children learn. Despite the doomsayers out there, this might not be all bad.

Every teacher should read this article about "digital natives" and "digital immigrants."

The author also says in another article, "Perhaps the most important difference is that the "stuff" to be learned - information, concepts, relationships, etc. - cannot be just "told" to these students. It must be learned by them, through questions, discovery, construction, and above all FUN."

In the old way of thinking, learning is hard work. In the new age learning may be hard - but it may not always be work.

When the video gaming industry learns how to structure their products for the school environment and market, and tailor those simulations and experiences to specific course content, it will sell and it will work. It will also INCREASE the need for quality teachers, not decrease the need.

I talked to a teacher recently who has gotten some notoriety for publishing articles about the increases in unit test scores for students who conducted video gaming units versus those students who learned in traditional textbook units. His comment?

The greatest fear of his colleagues is that they would be obsolete and no longer needed.

Those colleagues are wrong. The careful use of gaming simulations to teach content in an interactive environment INCREASES the need of careful reflection that a skillful teacher can bring to the class. In fact, it may actually free the teacher to spend more time on the reflection and higher order processing when the content to be learned is actually imbedded in the game.

It is precisely this REFLECTION and processing that the high paced world we are in living in is neglecting.

ISTEP and testing FAQ's

A recent commenter posted several questions about how ISTEP scores are used in the schools. I will post some of the most frequently asked questions (FAQ's) that I hear about ISTEP and testing in the schools.

How can you compare ISTEP scores from several years ago to today’s students? Aren’t those different tests now? Aren’t the students different too?

Yes, and that can complicate matters but not near as much as conventional wisdom would have one believe when schools are trying to do program evaluation. Several years ago, each school “weighed-in” in their goal areas (math computation for example) and tried to get a well-rounded measure of how students were performing in that specific area. They collected many different assessment scores from a variety of assessments and a variety of grade levels in order to establish a baseline for math computation. They may have had 10-15 different measures or more, including ISTEP. In cases where the ISTEP test changed, the old test scores are replaced with the new so that “apples-to-apples” comparisons are made.

Then, each school put in place an improvement plan targeting that area and went to work over the years implementing improvement strategies. After lots of hard work the schools this year will "weigh-out" by repeating those 10-15 different measures spread over those different assessments and different grade levels and try to determine if the overall pattern of achievement in math computation among the new students is different. This method is used for trying to determine if the program changes the school has made is changing the patterns of student achievement.

Yes, these are different students. However, when sample sizes get large enough on each assessment (generally speaking, the research says 70-100 students per sample size) the statistical probability of the group of students being “out of norm” is a lot less. Then by spreading this risk over multiple assessments and multiple grade levels, we can generally use this information to make some basic decisions about our curriculum and methods.

Then the tough questions come up.

Are the new students so different that the results are not comparable? This can happen but it is not as likely as most believe.

Was it the interventions we used that made the biggest difference or was it something else? If so, which ones? Should the staff continue with the strategies they were using or will another one make a bigger difference for our students?

These are the questions that professionals must wrestle with. Data will NOT make the decisions for us, but I am proud to work in a district that will at least use some professional decision-making processes to guide our discussions.

Ultimately our decisions still end up being professional judgments, but at least we are using information and data to help inform our practice.

Dumbest Editorial Ever?

This ranks right up there with some of the dumbest editorials I have ever read.

Click here.

The basic premise? ISTEP is easy because you only have to get 61% on some sections/grade levels to pass. The Indiana drivers' test is harder because you have to get an 84% to pass.

Say what?

With this logic it is easier to be a baseball player because you only have to average 1 for 3 at the plate to be in the Hall of Fame but a basketball player has to shoot 50% from the field to be considered good.

My premise? This editorial writer doesn't have a prayer of passing the 6th grade Math problem-solving portion of the test!

On a side note...I checked with our school attorney. He recalls needing to get at least 70% on the essay questions on the bar exam. Using The Star's illogic, the bar exam "lacks rigor" due to the 70% cut score. According to The Star it is easier to pass the essay section of the bar exam than it is to get your driver's license.

Quick update on Milford School

We took a few calls regarding Milford School being in "lock-down" so I thought I would post the real story this morning to squelch any wild rumors.

Milford School went into "lock-down" this morning as students were entering the school. A student had allegedly made a "threat" and left the building indicating they might return shortly. The school immediately went into lock-down procedure as they are trained to do. The police immediately went to the home and took the child into custody.

The school came out of lock-down and started their normal schedule.

Thank you to the school administrators, teachers, employees and students for handling the situation quickly and professionally.

Thank you to the parent who called here immediately to get the real story.

ISTEP this week

This is the week that ISTEP tests are given throughout Indiana in grades 3-10. It is especially important in Wawasee Schools this year because this is our "documentation year." That means that we must "document" our students' achievement this year and compare it to our students' achievement from several years ago and see if the students have improved in certain goal areas.

Our goals are NOT to improve test scores. Our goals are to improve the skills of our students.

Yet we continue to be asked the important question, "How do you know if they are getting better in their skills?" Of course we then go back to different assessments and look for patterns in the data.

There are people in the school district who are trained to do fairly complex data analysis in order to try and answer these two questions:

Did our students get better in the school's goal areas?
If so how much better? A little, A lot?
If students declined in their achievement was it a little or a lot?

Then the hardest question of all for a faculty to answer is..."If they got better in the goal areas, what interventions did we use that made the biggest difference? If they declined why did they decline?

This is the heart of what all professionals do in any profession. Analyze their own performances for feedback so they can better serve.

ISTEP is not only used for assessment at the individual student level, but it is just one part of a school-wide multi-faceted assessment plan that is being used to reflect on our own professional practices.

Friday's Funnies

The following is supposedly an actual question given on a University of Washington chemistry midterm. It really is a silly test question that the professor was clearly being funny with. I hope it is not offensive to anyone. It is "tongue-and-cheek" even though I personally consider the subject itself a serious matter.

The answer below is by one student on a chemistry exam and was so unusual that the professor shared it with colleagues, via the Internet, which is, of course, is why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well.

Bonus Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?

Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law, (gas cools off when it expands and heats up when it is compressed or some variant).

One student, however, wrote the following:

First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate that souls are moving into Hell and the rate they are leaving. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving. As for how many souls are entering Hell, lets look at the different religions that exist in the world today. Some of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there are more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can safely project that all souls will go to Hell.

With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are added. This gives two possibilities:

1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.
2. Of course, if Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.

So which is it? If we accept the postulate given to me by Ms. Teresa B. during my Freshman year, "...that it will be a cold day in Hell before I go out with you," and take into account the fact that I still have not succeeded in going out with with her, then, #2 cannot be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and will not freeze.

The student received the only "A" given.

2-Hour Delay

Wawasee Schools are on a two-hour delay today due to dense fog.

Board Meeting Highlights

At Tuesday night's regular monthly meeting, The Wawasee Board of School Trustees:

1. Approved claims, minutes and personnel items
2. Heard a report on the Wawasee Middle School Mentoring Grant and Program

They learned that the grant ends next year. The goal is to expand the number of adult mentor volunteers. The number of student/mentor matches is still higher than the other mentor grant programs that are operating. Students, parents, and Bowen Center representatives attended the meeting to express their thanks for supporting the program. The next big hurdle is continuing the program after the grant ends.

3. Approved the financial report
4. Approved the 2007 budget
5. Authorized Mr. Evans to make reductions in appropriations at the budget hearing
6. Approved the tax neutrality resolution (which essentially states that the tax rate to annually fund pension bonds is being taken from other funds and is not an additional tax)
7. Heard a report from the Superintendent on class sizes, Primetime funding history, ISBA conferences and upcoming insurance meetings.
8. Heard a report from the Director of Curriculum on ISTEP testing and upcoming professional development activities

Parent involvement is the key

Here is a great article, forwarded to me by Mr. Duncan, Principal at Jefferson Elementary in Warsaw Schools. One of his teachers tipped him off about it. Here is an excerpt:

A 1994 report by Anne Henderson and Nancy Berla, for example, compiled results of 66 studies and concluded that family involvement was the biggest predictor of student achievement, and that family involvement not only helped students, it also improved teacher morale, helped teachers earn higher ratings from students, and bolstered the reputation of the school in the community.

Whoa. It's the biggest predictor. In other words, a kid from a supportive family in a mediocre school will fare better than a kid with an indifferent family at a great school.

Dropouts make less

While everyone argues over whose fault it is that so many students still drop out of high school in this modern day era, the question, "Who stands to lose the most?" doesn't get much debate.

It is the student himself/herself with the most to lose.

Here is another story with some statistics that seems to say that American dropouts take a big wage hit compared to non-dropouts, in fact a larger percentage hit than many other countries.

On-line Petition for NCLB

No Child Left Behind is a federal law which has created the most sweeping changes in American education probably since public law 94-142 brought about much needed change in special education service.

Along with these sweeping changes has come a new federal control over education in our country. Has this new phase of "central planning" in education been helpful? Like most things it depends on who you ask. Educators critical of NCLB have been accused of being defensive and afraid of accountability. I heard a Wawasee teacher last week say, "I think accountability has been good, but I think the curriculum has become so focused (narrow) that I am afraid we are giving up a lot that no one is recognizing."

Clicking on this link will take you to an open letter to federal legislators seeking changes in the way NCLB has been developed and implemented.

If you agree with most of what you see in the letter you can click on the link to submit your name as a "signer" of the petition.

As a parent, if you are unsure of how the local educators feel about how the current form of NCLB is changing classroom practices, consider asking your own child's teacher or teachers how they feel about it.

Like most things in life there may be some good in NCLB, but there are huge unintended consequences that affect the curriculum and methodologies in the classroom. Educators are now pondering the question, "What is America giving up in its push to raise standardized test scores, and do we know if it is worth it?"

Recently there have even been calls for a required standardized national test AND required standardized testing in colleges. How much is too much? Does this type of "central planning" and government control promote or inhibit innovation and creativity, previously the hallmarks of American ingenuity?

Click here and read the open letter to federal legislators.

Indiana gets B+ in college completion

The Journal Gazette points out the good news as well. Indiana does well compared to other states in graduating its college students. Fifty-five percent (55%) of Indiana's first time/fulltime college students completed a Bachelor's degree within 6 years.

Over the last decade it is also 10% more likely that an Indiana student will be enrolled in college by the age 19.

Indiana gets F in college affordability

The Star discusses a recent report that gave Indiana an F for a grade in college affordability. Evidently college tuition costs have risen faster than inflation, endangering student access to higher education.

If it is any consolation, the article goes on to say 42 other states flunked too.

The Wawascene in the national blogosphere again

If you haven't been checking out The Education Wonks blog site every week, don't forget to do so. It is one of the best national blog sites for a variety of educational news around the country.

I give Mike the free plug because he cross linked to The Wawascene today in a reference to Indiana's behind the scenes proposal to link ISTEP to teacher incentive pay.

What no one will talk about

Here is a sensitive one.

Here is a link that shows student SAT scores by race and gender.

As you can see, some of Indiana's minority children are having some difficulty. BUT, did you know that virtually all minority groups in America have improved? Did you know that despite the fact that ALL of America's subgroups have improved that the TOTAL average for SAT's is relatively flat?

Say What??? How can every group in America get better but the whole group NOT improve?

It is a statistical phenomenon known to experts as Simpson's Paradox, named after Bart Simpson. (I'm just kidding about Bart.) However, Here is a link that discusses Simpson's Paradox and uses SAT data to explain.

Here is another link that shows the growing minority population.

Here is another one that shows the growing number of students who have limited English.

Here is a link that shows Indiana's increase in percentages of students passing ISTEP Math.

Here is a link that shows Indiana's increase in percentages of students passing ISTEP Language.

Now here is my point.

1. There is a fairly significant achievement gap among the races.
2. AND the percentage of minorities has increased.
3. AND the percentage of students with limited English has gone up dramatically.
4. YET, despite these barriers, ISTEP scores in Indiana have gone up in Math and Language

What am I trying to say?

Despite increasing numbers of students who have traditionally had more difficulty on such tests, Indiana has improved. While this could be a function of Indiana's subpopulations not growing as rapidly as the rest of the nation, it could also be that Indiana has improved enough to buck the trend and beat the odds. Let's hope that's true.

What factors explain variation in student achievement?

One of our commenters asked the question, "What are some of the factors that influence the variation in student achievement that are NOT in the schools' control?"

Great question.

First it is important to understand that correlation is NOT cause-and-effect. Correlation simply means that two items seem to be " co-related," meaning they have a relationship. For example, poverty has a fairly strong correlation to test scores. They go together but poverty does not CAUSE low test scores. There are poor students with high test scores and rich students with lower test scores. The relationship is NOT cause-and-effect, but few people will deny that there is a relationship between these two items.

To demonstrate this I have provided a few links.

If you click here, you will see student SAT scores in Indiana by parental income levels.

If you click here, you will see student SAT scores in Indiana by parental education levels.

I will share more information later that could start a small ruckus. You see, there are some politically touchy things here that Democrats and Republicans both seem to shy away from addressing publicly, but most likely for different reasons.

Democrats run the risk of offending their political bases by trotting out some of these stats, and the Republicans run the risk of showing that public schools are doing a pretty darn good job given the social trends they are dealing with. And that my friends, doesn't help advance a privatization/school voucher agenda.

My .02. More later.

Two hour delay Wednesday

There is a two hour delay for Wednesday.

Medium to heavy fog blanketing most of the school district.

Drive carefully.

Indiana teacher pay could tie to ISTEP?

In what is sure to be a lively debate, Indiana Education Insight (8/21/06) has reported that the Governor, the Indiana Department of Education and key legislators are quietly negotiating a bill for 2007, that if approved, would link teacher salary incentives to test scores.

This proposal would create a performance-based compensation system under which teachers who improve student test scores, demonstrate good teaching methods, assume leadership roles, or complete professional development would be eligible for salary incentives.

Indiana Education Insight understands that the Governor has presented a plan to Dr. Reed, State Superintendent of Public Instruction as part of a plan to address teacher shortages and improve teacher quality and retention.

The ISTA (Indiana State Teacher's Association) has historically been opposed to performance-based pay systems and favored more seniority-based pay plans. The lobbying at the state level will be pretty intense.

I personally have concerns if the "pay for performance" incentives are too closely tied to specific ISTEP scores from specific students. Especially since most research attributes somewhere around 70% or more of the variation in student test scores to things outside a school's control.

I might be less concerned about the other items such as "leadership roles" or "completing professional development activities" since one could argue that those things are more closely under the teacher's control. Still, I would want to see the details.

I do believe some type of pay system that is not exclusively seniority-based could have some bearing on teacher retention. Public education loses a lot of teachers in their first 5-8 years.

Dr. Reed is reported to have some reservations to the plan but may be favorable to some type of incentive system in the school areas that report high turnover in teaching staff.

Two-hour delay

There is a two-hour fog delay this morning.

Dense fog blanketing most of our area.

Drive safely.

ISTEP+ and Volunteers

Wawasee Community School Corporation is in need of some licensed teachers who would be willing to volunteer in our buildings during the mornings of September 19, 20, 21, 26, and 27 when we are administering the ISTEP+ tests to students in grades 3-10. This would be a great opportunity for retired teachers!

The ISTEP+ allows specific special accommodations that are permitted through a student's IEP (special education students), Section 504 plan, or LEP (Limited English Proficient) plan. The accommodations might include being tested in small groups. Having some extra licensed teachers in the buildings would greatly help us!

If you would be willing to volunteer to help with testing, please call Joy Swartzentruber at 457-3188.

Checking on your child's grades, attendance and discipline

The Harmony Parent Portal is up and running. Using the internet, each parent can keep regular tabs on their children's grades, attendance and discipline that has been entered into the system.
As the year progresses more of this information will be entered. The data will be "real-time" as it is entered into the system by the faculty.

Here is the latest information from the principals on when to expect the information:

Syracuse Elementary: There will be a one page "Parent/guardian ACCESS to HARMONY" section on the back of this week's parent newsletter explaining how each parent will be able to get access. Once e-mail addresses are obtained, access codes will be e-mailed to parents.

Milford School: The information will go home with students on Thursday, August 31 in a separate newsletter. The information will also be shared with the teachers at their next two meetings so they can include it in their weekly newsletters (elem) or as parents contact them (MS). At open house night September 7, the Computer Technician will also be available to collect e-mail addresses from parents.

North Webster School: The information and sign-up sheet for the Harmony Parent Portal will go home with the parent newsletter on September 8, after the grade level teams are trained in using the grade book. Once e-mail addresses are entered into the computer, an e-mail with a user ID will be sent to each e-mail address.

Wawasee Middle School: A paper will come home with advisory classes Wednesday to receive necessary information. Once they have updated e-mails, etc...they will begin creating user id's and sending information home via e-mails.

Wawasee High School: Parents were able to get their passwords following registration and it was also explained at the freshmen parent meeting. At the first parent teacher conference the information will be printed so each parent who attends will receive the information again. Teachers are currently reinforcing the use of the Harmony website for parents and for the students. The Dean of Students will also explain it to parents when he calls on attendance and discipline issues.

Huntington approves divided gender classes

Huntington schools has recently approved a pilot program with gender-divided classes.

Article here.

Did you know that 1 out of 3 believe...

The arrival of modern communication tools has greatly increased the use of polling to influence public opinion. Readers have to be fairly knowledgeable about the science of public polling to be able to identify sloppy public opinion polls.

In this article the NY Times provides a basic review of the cautions we should take when reading articles that use public polling numbers to make a point.

Heading into the fall elections, I think all voters should be aware of these cautions.

Charter schools score lower

The debate continues. Another study shows that charter schools scored lower than public schools.

Story here.

First day jitters...

It's not just the kids!

Article here. (May require sign in)

Polls show support for vouchers is fading

Recent public opinion polls show that support for vouchers has faded.

Indy Star article here.

This issue will be an interesting one in this year's General Assembly.

Perhaps the public is more interested in improving the public schools we have instead of spending public tax money to send people to private schools.

School delays and cancellations

We are entering the foggy season here around the lakes. That means patchy fog that moves around in mysterious ways creating havoc for administrators who have to decide two hours before buses roll whether or not it is going to improve, worsen, move away or sock-in for the day.

Sigh.

We want to remind everyone that with the advent of daylight savings time (DST) the probability of delays has increased due to the loss of morning daylight time. This will only worsen when DST time starts even earlier the next few years. In 2007 DST will move from April 2 to March 11. In 2008 it will move to March 9 and in 2009 DST moves to March 8 and ends on November 1.

We also want to remind everyone that this year we will only be contacting 5 media outlets with school delay and cancellation information.

The outlets are:

1. The Wawascene (http://wawasee.blogspot.com) (It is posted here first.)
2. WAWC 103.5 FM
3. WRSW 107.3 FM
4. Channel 15
5. Channel 22

In the past we have tried contacting 13 different media outlets. We had troubles with accuracy with a few of them and have had trouble getting through on others. Some are internet based and some utilized digital phone systems. All have different systems and different passwords and procedures.

After hassling our way through all this for several years we have tried to limit our contacts to local radio and one South Bend TV station and one Fort Wayne TV station.

While we understand everyone prefers their own favorite radio stations, unfortunately there are almost as many favorites as there are people.

We announced this in The Reporter this summer and provided a small cutout for you to place on your refrigerator. This is just another reminder!

Did you ever wonder what your child's current grades are?

How about her attendance? How about his discipline record? Did you ever wish there were an easier way to find out?

Coming soon at a school near you...

Wawasee Schools is in the process of putting in place an entirely new student management software program that will allow parents to check on their child's grades, attendance and discipline on a "real time" basis as teachers and administrators input the information into the electronic grade books. This will replace K12 planet which was our first attempt but was notorious for being "down" all the time. We hope our new system will be better for parents.

Of course this information is secure and password protected so you will have to wait until you are provided a Web ID from the school.

On the sidebar you will see all the schools' Grade Portals so you will be able to click on every link right from The Wawascene to access this information about your child. Make this your "one-stop shop" for corporation, school and now individual student updates.

The links are not operative yet but as the system is up and teachers begin entering grades and information, these links will go live.

Please help us help your children by providing that important "monitoring" responsibility that children first resent and then later THANK you for when they get older!

(I hear that happens somewhere around the age of 24!)

Friday's Funnies

Don't forget to send me funny school stories. I will use as many as I can.

Here are a few taken from the internet.

One year my opening bulletin board was dalmations with the title "Pick of the litter." When the kindergarten classes went to PE one of the PE teachers asked a little girl whose class she was in. She said "I'm in that damnation class.

Our 6-year-old granddaughter was going with her mother to her first day of school. Our daughter asked her if the young girl remembered her teacher's name, which happened to be Miss Rood. She thought about it for a second and then replied: "Yes, it's Miss Meanie."

My first day of subbing one student arrived a half hour early, and before the class asked me if it was my first day. "Yes, it is." I said. "How did you know?" He thought for a few seconds and then replied, "You're too happy."

The child comes home from his first day at school. Mother asks, "What did you learn today?"
The kid replies, "Not enough. I have to go back tomorrow."

New Wawasee Blog

Mrs. Ruth Ayres, Wawasee's writing teacher and trainer for the district, has created a new blog called Inspiring Readers and Writers. She will be blogging about reading and writing tips that will inspire our students to greater literacy. This blog will be a great weekly read for all parents and teachers.

Give it try!

Here is the link. http://inspiringreaderswriters.blogspot.com/ I will also provide a link on the sidebar.

Put it in your favorites list and check it out! It could be an awesome forum for educators to exchange ideas on writing and to ask questions directly to our writing coach! It would also be a great way for parents to ask questions and get tips for helping their children with writing assignments. It could also be a great way for homeschool parents to stay in touch with a quality writing coach!

What to make of a label.

The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette provides a thoughtful editorial on the use of Indiana's Public Law 221 labels for public schools.

Click here.

School Tomorrow

Ready or not ... here they come!

School starts for Wawasee staff Wednesday

Wawasee will have its annual teachers' meeting to kick off the school year on Wednesday, August 16th at 7:30 AM at the Wawasee Middle School Cafeteria.

I thought I would share with the community what will happen and what will be said to our community's professional educators.

7:30 - 8:00 Continental Breakfast, Coffee and Juice
8:00 - 8:10 Principals will introduce New Teachers to Everyone Present
8:10 - 8:30 Superintendent Remarks

This year I will review the following topics with the staff:
1. 06-07 is Wawasee's School Improvement Documentation Year: Over the last 5-6 years, each school in Wawasee has been attempting to improve the academic skills of students in several goal areas. Each school will be collecting a variety of information and test results and comparing the overall student performance to the students from 5-6 years ago to see if the changes that have been implemented have made any measurable difference in the skills of students. From this information, each staff will be expected to make professional judgments about how much student achievement patterns have changed and what specific methods or changes, if any, influenced these differences. While this is all fairly technical and complex, a core team of principals and teachers will be trained and coached through the process. Most staff will only be involved in helping evaluate students and/or collect data. They will then be asked to develop new improvement plans. The general school improvement process is a legal requirement for all public schools under Indiana's Public Law 221.

2. Grant Opportunities for Teachers: I will also explain Wawasee's creation of a grant fund under the Kosciusko County Community Foundation. This fund will be used to give financial mini-grants to teachers to encourage creativity and innovation so that students have increased opportunities to enjoy their classes. Wawasee High School students will also be present to explain their KEYS grants that are also available for teachers.

3. I will encourage and challenge everyone to have a good year and to remember to put students first.

8:30 - 8:45 The Wawasee Community Education Association President will have opening remarks
8:45 - Staff will be dismissed to the buildings where they will have building meetings and some time to work in their rooms.

Students start on Thursday!

"When all else fails..some kids pass."

The Indy Star discusses social promotion and it's opposite twin, retention.

Is there a middle ground or a third option?

Article here.

Friday's Funnies

Kids' Science Theories taken from the Education World website.

The beguiling ideas about science quoted here were gleaned from essays, exams, and classroom discussions. Most were from 5th and 6th graders. They illustrate Mark Twain's contention that the "most interesting information comes from children, for they tell all they know and then stop."

Q: What is one horsepower?
A: One horsepower is the amount of energy it takes to drag a horse 500 feet in one second.

You can listen to thunder after lightening and tell how close you came.

Rainbows are just to look at, not to really understand.

South America has cold summers and hot winters, but somehow they still manage.

Most books now say our sun is a star. But it still knows how to change back into a sun in the daytime.

Lime is a green-tasting rock.

Some oxygen molecules help fires burn while others help make water, so sometimes it's brother against brother.

We say the cause of perfume disappearing is evaporation. Evaporation gets blamed for a lot of things people forget to put the top on.

In looking at a drop of water under a microscope, we find there are twice as many H's as O's.

I am not sure how clouds get formed. But the clouds know how to do it, and that is the important thing.

Water vapor gets together in a cloud. When it is big enough to be called a drop, it does.

Thunder is a rich source of loudness.

Isotherms and isobars are even more important than their names sound.

It is so hot in some places that the people there have to live in other places.

Have a great weekend and rest up.

Board Meeting Highlights

At Tuesday evening's school board meeting the board:

1. Approved board minutes from last month, personnel, and claims
2. Heard a report from Mrs Sigler on the Alternative School
* 30 students graduated last year with at least one credit from the Academy
3. Approved the financial report
4. Approved a resolution for additional appropriation for special ed preschool
5. Adopted the Student Wellness Policy
6. Heard a report from the superintendent on:
* Class sizes (added teacher to NW 3rd gr and instructional para's at MLF)
* Indiana School Board Association conferences are September 25-26
* First day for students is 17th and staff the 16th
7. Heard a report from the Dir. of Curriculum and Instruction:
* New teacher orientation training is this week
* Alternative to Suspension and Expulsion report from last year


The next meeting is August 22nd at 5:00 PM for a budget hearing.

Feedback on Registration

Fall school registration has normally rated somewhere just above a root canal in terms of favored activities for most parents of school-age children.

Principals have worked on shortening the process and making it quicker and easier for parents. It would be nice if we could do on-line registration for parents but we aren't ready for that yet.

In the meantime, principals have been trying to shorten your visit to the school.

I am open to feedback in the comment section. We would appreciate any positive comments you might have as well as suggestions for improvement. Please indicate the school building you were registering at so that we can pass the information along to principals.

Thank you!

Wawasee Welcomes New Teachers

Wawasee Schools has new teacher orientation activities this week. This orientation is for all new teachers on regular contract as well as teachers filling temporary contracts for teachers on leave. New teachers will be discussing instructional process, crisis prevention, personnel paperwork, meetings with building principals, a million other things, and time to work in their buildings.

We give a warm Wawasee welcome to the following:

1. Christopher Berg - Wawasee High School - English
2. Emily Quandt - Wawasee Middle School - Special Education
3. Julie Harkema - Wawasee High School - Family and Consumer Science
4. Kelly Holbrook - Syracuse Elementary - Special Education
5. Kari Flanigan - School Psychologist
6. Jamie Baker - Syracuse Elementary - First Grade
7. Christie Holst - Wawasee Middle School - Sixth Grade
8. Gina Bordones - Milford Middle School
9. Andrew Dittmer - Milford School - PE
10. Mason McIntyre - Milford Elementary School - Fifth Grade
11. Todd Lucas - Syracuse Elementary - Fourth Grade
12. Danielle Wells - Wawasee High School - Special Education
13. Carla Winegardner, Wawasee Middle School - Special Education Teacher

Good luck to all!

Parents - the key?

Parents are so important to a child's progress in school and success in life that it is difficult to overestimate their influence.

Here the Indy Star weighs in on the topic.

Do superintendents matter?

Just like there is more to being a teacher than looking at how students score on a test, there is more to being a "boss" in the school district than just looking at how students are doing on standardized tests. Yet again, when looking for data, test scores always show up on the list.

A recent study by McRel (found here) looked at 6 areas of superintendent responsibilities: 1) goal setting process 2) relationships with schools 3) board alignment 4)monitoring and evaluating 5) resource alignment 6) goal adoption

The study looked at 1400+ school districts and found the following:

The impact on students whose superintendent is considered in the "top half" of superintendent performance is that 62.5% pass standardized tests versus 37.5% that fail. Students with superintendents identified as performing in the bottom half of their cohort group are reversed with 37.5% pass and 62.5% fail.

The study also found what it refers to as a "bonus finding" that "stability in superintendent leadership matters." A positive effect of superintendent tenure "appears after two years and is evident through year ten." The average effect based on the research models is seven years of a superintendent's tenure is .75 which is three times the average general effect anticipated.

We always thought we mattered to some degree but I guess now someone has actually tried to quantify it. Nothing like a little more pressure!! :-)

Friday's Funnies

Here are a few more excerpts supposedly taken from history exam essay questions.

Then came the Middle Ages. King Alfred conquered the Dames, King Arthur lived in the Age of Shivery, King Harlod mustarded his troops before the Battle of Hastings, Joan of Arc was cannonized by George Bernard Shaw. Finally, the magna Carta provided that no free man should be hanged twice for the same offense.

In midevil times most of the people were alliterate. The greatest writer of the time was Chaucer, who wrote many poems and verse and also wrote literature. Another tale tells of William Tell, who shot an arrow through an apple while standing on his son's head.

The Renaissance was an age in which more individuals felt the value of their human being. Martin Luther was nailed to the church door at Wittenberg for selling papal indulgences. He died a horrible death, being excommunicated by a bull. it was the painter Donatello's interest in the female nude that made him the father of the Renaissance. It was an age of great inventions and discoveries. Gutenberg invented the Bible. Sir Walter Raleigh is a historical figure because he invented cigarette. Another important invention was the circulation of blood. Sir Francis Drake circumcised the world with a 100-foot clipper.

The government of England was a limited mockery. Henry VIII found walking difficult because he had an abbess on his knee. Queen Elizabeth exposed herself before her troops, they all shouted "hurrah." Then her navy went out and defeated the Spanish Armadillo.

There, now don't you feel enlightened? Maybe they won't become authors but they might be able to write for Letterman or Leno although these essay answers are more likely to be "urban legends."

American education: Is the glass half empty or half full?

Here are two articles in the Stanford Magazine. Two leading American researchers and authors were asked to weigh in on their opinions of American education.

They couldn't be more different.

Read the Bracey article carefully and note his comments about poverty. THIS appears to be the dirty little American secret no one will talk about openly. America leads the civilized nations in the percentages of students living in poverty. It was only the American schools with more than 75% poverty that were below international averages on test scores. The problem? We have so many of them.

Bracey's point? It's a poverty issue not an educational issue.

He points out that it is only our poorest schools that score low. Even if our schools with 25% - 49% poverty rates were considered a separate nation, they would have placed 4th in the world.

The Unasked Question

What are schools for?

Schools are mirrors of social belief, giving back what citizens put in front of them. But they are not fixed in one position. They can be moved up and down and sideways, so that at different times and in different venues, they will reflect one thing and not another. But always they show something that is there, not of the schools' invention but of the society that pays for the schools and uses them for various purposes. (From Neil Postman's "The End of Education: Redefining the value of school." pg 59-60)

So what are schools reflecting now? What purposes and motivations are driving American school reform efforts? What are schools being USED for now?

In Neil Postman's book he describes different purposes that play a role in influencing American education. One of the most obvious purposes in today's educational world is what Postman calls Economic Utility. In this view, the main purpose of schooling is to provide an economic benefit to society. Postman says...

It is a passionless god, cold and severe. Addressing the young, if offers a covenant of sorts with them: If you will pay attention in school, and do your homework, and score well on tests, and behave yourself, you will be rewarded with a well-paying job when you are done. It's driving idea is that the purpose of schooling is to prepare children for competent entry into the economic life of a community. It follows from this that anything that takes away from this is a frill or a waste of time. (Postman)

Postman would argue that using schools for economic purposes takes the view that America is not so much a culture as it is an economy and that our nation's economy rests upon high standards of achievement and rigorous discipline. He would consider this a fairly narrow view of schooling.

My opinion? Of course parents are hopeful that their children will have gainful employment that will keep them from hardship. Yet I can't help but feel this only represents a minimum of what parents truly hope schools will help provide. I believe most parents want their children to get along well with others, to be happy, to feel a sense of accomplishment and purpose, to be empathetic, to be compassionate, to be a contributing member in our democracy, to be civic minded, and YES to read, write and do math. Postman would say that it is these deeper things that have created and sustained what it is to be American.

Postman also argues that one of the greatest traditional benefits that schools provide society is teaching children how to behave in groups.

You cannot have a democratic - indeed civilized - community life unless people have learned to participate in a disciplined way within a group. (Postman)

So why has America gone down the road of overhyped standardized testing, ranking and rating schools and overbearing curriculum standards that are too voluminous to be taught at any grade level?

Is it not because America is captivated by what is easiest to measure? Could it be that the murky world of psychology, motivation, soft people skills and human interaction is more important but harder to measure and is therefore being ignored or at least just given lip service?

NE Kosciusko County's Declining Population

Northeastern Kosciusko county is the only part of our county with a declining population. That's us.

Click here for image. Click here for more information about the rest of Indiana.

The last few years Wawasee has posted the lowest student enrollment in many years and this chart seems to support the reasons.

I suppose Dana Corporation's major reductions have most likely contributed and while rumors are out there that more industry is on the way, it hasn't happened yet.

Registration is this week so we will see what happens to student enrollment this year.

New student enrollment law for divorced parents

Public Law 13-2006 (Senate Enrolled Act No. 39) added IC 20-26-11-2.5 to the Indiana Code, creating an election for parents who are divorced or separated but live in different school corporations.

The parent with physical custody (or the student, if the student is 18 years of age or older) can elect for the student to have legal settlement in the school corporation where the mother lives or the school corporation where the father lives—but the election must be made not later than fourteen (14) days before the first student day of the school year.

All that is required is for the parents to complete a special form at school registration.

Caring About Kids

Educational author and consultant, William Glasser once said, "Before kids care what you know, they have to know that you care."

Here is a great article by Dorothy Rich. (Requires registration) :-( Dorothy is the author of MegaSkills which are the list of life skills you see posted inside the Wawasee elementary schools. Here is an excerpt:

When I am asked about the key factor that makes students like school, study hard and stay in school, the answer is "caring." Students have to feel needed. Parents have to feel needed, teachers, too. This is the human element in education. Connectedness is a protective factor in children's lives. Schools and homes have to find ways of helping everyone feel important, essential and connected.

It's all very well to talk about test scores. But we have to remember that we build test scores by building people, children and adults included. Education is a very human, "messy" enterprise. Even in the age of computers, education is still a person-person connection.

May we not forget it.

Friday's Funnies

The children were lined up in the cafeteria of a Catholic elementary school for lunch. At the head of the table was a large pile of apples.

The nun made a note, and posted it on the apple tray: "Take only ONE. God is watching."

Moving further along the lunch line, at the other end of the table was a large pile of chocolate chip cookies.

A child had written a note, "Take all you want. God is watching the apples."

So how bad is it?

So how bad is it? The high school dropout rate. If you haven't researched it then your answer is probably predicated on how you already feel about public schools in general.

Is the glass half empty or half full? Here are some excerpts from, "Rethinking High School Graduation Rates and Trends," by Lawrence Mishel and Joydeep Roy.

The overall high school graduation rate with a regular diploma is between 80% and 83%, with the best data (NELS) showing an 82% rate. All of the household and longitudinal data sources show a higher graduation rate than the two-thirds rate computed using the school-based enrollment/diploma data.

Estimates of the black rate of graduation from high school with a regular diploma range between 69% and 75%, with the NELS showing a 74% graduation rate. This is substantially higher than the frequently alleged 50% rate for blacks, reported from the school-based enrollment/diploma data. Moreover, the NELS data suggest that the alleged 50% dropout rate is double the actual dropout rate for blacks. In fact, the dropout rate for blacks is closer to 25% and roughly half of those obtain a GED, which allows entry into post-secondary education, the military, and other second-chance systems. Estimates of Hispanic high school graduation rates with a regular diploma range between 61% and 74%, with the NELS showing a 74% rate. This is substantially higher than the frequently alleged 50% rate for Hispanics reported from the school-based enrollment/ diploma data. Further, these data do not account for the additional 9% to 12% of Hispanics who receive a GED, which allows entry into post-secondary education, the military, and other second-chance systems.

There remain substantial race/ethnic gaps in graduation rates with regular diplomas. Analysis of census data shows that in 2000, for those ages 25-29, there was a black-white gap of about 15 percentage points and a Hispanic-white gap of 23 percentage points.

High school completion (either by diploma or GED) grew substantially from 1960 to the early to mid-1990s. This study looked at those aged 25-29 and found that in 1962 only 41.6% of blacks and 69.2% of whites completed high school, a 27.6 percentage point racial gap. By 1980 the racial gap had been cut by 63% to 10.3 percentage points, with both blacks and whites improving their graduation rates (to 86.9% for whites and to 76.6% for blacks). The racial gap was closed further to 6.0 percentage points by 1994 and to 5.0 percentage points by 2004.

Trends in Hispanic graduation rates are difficult to track since it is important to be able to identify recent immigrants who were not enrolled in U.S. schools. This can be done with the data from 1994 and more recent years and the data reveal that the Hispanic completion rate (either by diploma or GED) has grown from 76% to 81.3% from 1994 to 2004.

The overall conclusion of this study shows that American high school graduation rates are at the highest levels in history. The "Chicken Little - The Sky is Falling" rhetoric regarding dropout rates is not standing up to researcher's peer reviews.

While it is true that the rate of increase in graduation rates has slowed in recent years, that too must be viewed in light of the increased academic rigor that most states have added to the high school program.

Registration Reminders

Registration for Wawasee K-8 students will be on August 2 and 3 from 12:00 - 7:00 PM.

Registration for Wawasee 9-12 students will be on August 8 and 9 from 12:00 - 7:00 PM.

Additional information was mailed to your home in the Wawasee Reporter. If you didn't receive one you may stop by the administration office in front of the high school and pick up a new one.

How's the shopping for new school clothes going? :-)

China and Education

Every decade or so there is a surge in American paranoia about losing economic superiority in the global marketplace. For awhile it was the Japanese but since their economy tanked we haven't heard much about them. Next it was the Chinese and more recently it has been India.

Whenever this happens there is a new round of handwringing and another new phase of school reform efforts.

Well what type of education are the Chinese aspiring to?

Here is an interesting take on the subject. Blog post here. You may have to scroll down a few posts.

Click on the chart showing one Chinese curriculum expert's opinion of where Chinese instructional strategies have been and where they need to go.

Now, think hard. Does that end vision look like American drill and kill standardized test mania that has predominated American education reform? Probably not.

American wins gold in international Math competition

It's good to see an American student at the top in an academic area. Add this to Tiger Woods and Floyd Landis and it was a good week in competitions for Americans!

Arnav Tripathy (16) is Orissa’s “beautiful mind”. The teenager, who lives with his parents in the US, took home the gold in the 47th Math Olympiad held recently in Slovenia, beating off competition from 90 countries.

Article here.

ISTEP Teacher Assistant Needed at WHS

I don't normally use the blog site to post employment positions but this one has been posted for awhile without any takers.


Wawasee High School ISTEP Remediation Paraprofessional needed. Must possess computer skills, language arts skills and math skills at the Algebra 1 level. Must have organizational skills and be able to work with students in grades 9-12.

This is a part-time postion at $8.87 per hour. The hours are 10:45 a.m. until 3:00 p.m with a lunch break.

Contact Principal Ellen Stevens at 457-3147 for more information.

Career and Technical Education Funding Approved

Congress has evidently extended funding for vocational education for a few more years. Article here. This will be good news for Wawasee vocational students since enrollment in our Wawasee Career and Technical programs is at an all-time high despite the lowest total student enrollment in at least 10 years. Classes like Cosmetology are always full, while others like Building and Trades and Automotive may fluctuate a little more.

Newer classes like Project Lead the Way try to attract college-bound engineering students into classes with some "hands-on" experiences. Wawasee faculty members, Mr. McAdams and Mr. Coblentz have been attending extensive training classes this summer in order to implement these classes that try to attract more college-bound students to vocational classes.

In fact, there will be a new diploma offered in the future called a "Core 40 with Technical Honors" which will be an honors diploma for students completing the Core 4o college prep courses with a focus on the vocational classes in their electives.

Our Vocational Director, Mr. Metcalf, was worried about this legislation, but it looks like our programs may not be affected negatively.

Saturday Satire

Sorry I missed the Friday's Funnies posting. Here is some Saturday Satire to make up for it.

Here is a satirical grade change form for a college or high school student. I won't embarrass you by asking you if you actually thought about using any of these in your college days.


Universal Grade Change FormTo: (professor/teacher/instructor)________________________
From:_____________________
I think my grade in your course,_________________, should be changed from___to___for the following reasons:
____The persons who copied my paper made a higher grade than I did.
____The person whose paper I copied made a higher grade than I did.
____This course will lower my GPA and I won't get into:
__Med School __Dental School __Chiropractic School__Acupuncture school __Grad School __Mickey Mouse Club
____I have to get an A in this course to balance the F in ___________.
____I'll lose my scholarship.
____I didn't come to class and the person whose notes I used did not cover the material asked for on the exam.
____I studied the basic principles but the exam wanted every little fact.
____I studied the facts and definitions but the exam asked about general principles.
____I understood the material; I just couldn't do the problems.
____I can work the problems, but your exam expected understanding.
____You are prejudiced against:
__Males __Females __Protestants __Chicanos __Jews __Catholics __Muslims __People __Blacks __Whites __Minorities __Jocks __Students __Young people __Old people
____If I flunk out of school my father will disinherit me or at least cut my allowance.
____I was unable to do well in this course because of the following:
__mono __acute alcoholism __drug addiction __VD __broken finger __pregnancy __fatherhood __I have allergic reaction to brain work __I am intellectually challenged.
____You told us to be creative but you didn't tell us exactly how you wanted that done.
____I was creative and you said I was just shooting the bull.
____The lectures were:
__too detailed to pick out important points
__not explained in sufficient detail
__too boring
__all jokes and no material
__too serious--not enough entertainment to keep me awake.
____All my other profs have agreed to raise my grades.
____I don't have a reason; I just want a higher grade.
____This course was:
__too early, I was not awake.
__too late, I was tired.
__at lunchtime, I was hungry.
____My (dog, cat, gerbil) (ate, wet on, threw up on) my (book, notes, term paper) for this

Wawascene Stats

Here are some interesting statistics for you:

Between June 1 and today at 1:00 PM The Wawascene has had...

1. 6,887 First Time Visitors
2. 17,247 Returning Visitors
3. 24,134 Unique Visitors (all visitors)

The Statcounter program defines the terms as:

Returning Visitors - Based purely on a cookie, if this person is returning to your website for another visit an hour or more later.
First Time Visitors - Based purely on a cookie, if this person has no cookie then this is considered their first time at your website.
Unique Visitor - Based purely on a cookie, this is the total of the returning visitors and first time visitors - all your visitors.
Page Load - The number of times your page has been visited.

The busiest summer day so far was this Monday with 2,113 page loads. The highest we have so far was over 7,000 in one day.

Summer site traffic is way up this year and based on current trends it looks like The Wawascene will clear 1 million hits by February.

Thank you for embracing the technology. It has provided me as superintendent a unique and interesting way of communicating and interacting with staff and public.

If you have ideas for postings, articles you think would be interesting for me to link too or frequently asked questions you hear in the public that you would like answered, remember to e-mail them to me. There is an e-mail link on the side bar. I can't promise to use every link or idea submitted but I will use the ones that I deem best and most appropriate.

Student Wellness Policy

A recent commenter asked if the student wellness policy the school board was discussing was posted anywhere for public comment. Here it is. First...some background.

This spring the Indiana General Assembly passed a law requiring each school to have a student wellness policy. This policy was reviewed by a group of people including representatives from administrators, parents, cooks, and nurses. The policy started with a sample taken from the Indiana School Boards' Association and was modified by a committee of Wawasee people. Then it was reviewed and modified again before going to the school board for review. It has been reviewed twice by the school board. It will be up for adoption at the August school board meeting. This current revision is essentially a restatement of what the school law and federal lunch rules require.

STUDENT WELLNESS POLICY

The Board of School Trustees of the Wawasee Community School Corporation supports increased emphasis on nutrition as well as physical activity at all grade levels to enhance the well-being of the school corporation’s students. Therefore, it is the policy of the Board to:

· Provide students access to nutritious food and beverages;
· Provide opportunities for physical activity and developmentally appropriate exercise; and
· Require that all meals served by the school corporation meet the federal nutritional guidelines issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

In grades 9-12 vending machines dispensing healthy snacks and drinks such as bottled water, fruit juice, milk, dried fruit, and nuts, may be made available throughout the school day, after school, and at all extra-curricular activities.

Vending machines will provide the appropriate percentages of healthy foods as per current law.
This is mostly a high school issue because there will be virtually no vending machine usage by students during the school day K-8. In the high school they will be phasing out the carbonated beverages altogether over time. Currently half the machines already have healthy choices in them.

Minimally nutritious snacks and drinks may not be sold on lunch lines as a la carte items.
While ALL a la carte items currently meet these guidelines - the cooks have agreed to take a more restrictive view for next year than what is required by federal nutrition guidelines.

All school-sponsored events and celebrations of special occasions during the school day shall include healthy beverages and/or food among the choices available to participants.
Principals will work to create a more reasonable policy next year on things like "reward parties and birthday parties" etc. They will not be eliminating such things - just trying to avoid the situation where three parents bring cupcakes to the same room on the same day.

Each elementary school day shall incorporate several minutes of physical activity or exercise as determined at each building level in addition to the physical education curriculum.

Nutrition, health, and fitness topics shall be integrated within the health education curriculum taught at every grade level, K-12, and coordinated with the school corporation’s food service program. These topics may be integrated with other curriculum areas as deemed appropriate.

The superintendent and each building principal or designee shall jointly share the operational responsibility for ensuring that the provisions of this policy and its regulations are met.


LEGAL REFERENCE: 42 U.S.C. 1751

Self control - secret to success?

Somehow we've entered a world in which we obsess over structural reforms and
standardized tests, but skirt around the moral and psychological traits that are
at the heart of actual success.

This quote comes from an online news article that is worth a read.

The premise being that the ability to exercise self-control and delay of gratification might be the secret to success.

However, doesn't it still come down to where you stand on the "nurture or nature" debate? Are children born with these tendencies or do they acquire them through their environment?

Article here.

Friday's Funnies

No Dentist Left Behind

My dentist is great! He sends me reminders so I don't forget checkups. He uses the latest techniques based on research. He never hurts me, and I've got all my teeth. When I ran into him the other day, I was eager to see if he'd heard about the new state program. I knew he'd think it was great.

"Did you hear about the new state program to measure effectiveness of dentists with their young patients?" I said."No," he said. He didn't seem too thrilled. "How will they do that?"

"It's quite simple," I said. "They will just count the number of cavities each patient has at age 10, 14, and 18 and average that to determine a dentist's rating. Dentists will be rated as excellent, good, average, below average, and unsatisfactory. That way parents will know which are the best dentists. The plan will also encourage the less effective dentists to get better," I said.

"Poor dentists who don't improve could lose their licenses to practice.""That's terrible," he said."What? That's not a good attitude," I said. "Don't you think we should try to improve children's dental health in this state?"

"Sure I do," he said, "but that's not a fair way to determine who is practicing good dentistry.""Why not?" I said. "It makes perfect sense to me."

"Well, it's so obvious," he said. "Don't you see that dentists don't all work with the same clientele, and that much depends on things we can't control? For example, I work in a rural area with a high percentage of patients from deprived homes, while some of my colleagues work in upper middle-class neighborhoods. Many of the parents I work with don't bring their children to see me until there is some kind of problem, and I don't get to do much preventive work. Also many of the parents I serve let their kids eat way too much candy from an early age, unlike more educated parents who understand the relationship between sugar and decay.To top it all off, so many of my clients have well water, which is untreated and has no fluoride in it. Do you have any idea how much difference early use of fluoride can make?"

"It sounds like you're making excuses," I said. "I can't believe that you, my dentist, would be so defensive. After all, you do a great job, and you needn't fear a little accountability."

"I am not being defensive!" he said. "My best patients are as good as anyone's, my work is as good as anyone's, but my average cavity count is going to be higher than a lot of other dentists because I chose to work where I am needed most.""Don't' get touchy," I said."Touchy?" he said. His face had turned red, and from the way he was clenching and unclenching his jaws, I was afraid he was going to damage his teeth. "Try furious! In a system like this, I will end up being rated average, below average, or worse. The few educated patients I have who see these ratings may believe this so-called rating is an actual measure of my ability and proficiency as a dentist. They may leave me, and I'll be left with only the neediest patients. And my cavity average score will get even worse. On top of that, how will I attract good dental hygienists and other excellent dentists to my practice if it is labeled below average?"

"I think you are over reacting," I said. "'Complaining, excuse-making and stonewalling won't improve dental health'...I am quoting from a leading member of the DOC," I noted."What's the DOC?" he asked."It's the Dental Oversight Committee," I said, "a group made up of mostly lay persons to make sure dentistry in this state gets improved."

"Spare me," he said, "I can't believe this. Reasonable people won't buy it," he said hopefully.The program sounded reasonable to me, so I asked, "How else would you measure good dentistry?""Come watch me work," he said. "Observe my processes.""That's too complicated, expensive and time-consuming," I said."Cavities are the bottom line, and you can't argue with the bottomline. It's an absolute measure."

"That's what I'm afraid my parents and prospective patients will think. This can't be happening," he said despairingly."Now, now," I said, "don't despair. The state will help you some.""How?" he asked."If you receive a poor rating, they'll send a dentist who is rated excellent to help straighten you out," I said brightly.

"You mean," he said, "they'll send a dentist with a wealthy clientele to show me how to work on severe juvenile dental problems with which I have probably had much more experience? BIG HELP!""There you go again," I said. "You aren't acting professionally at all."

"You don't get it," he said. "Doing this would be like grading schools and teachers on an average score made on a test of children's progress with no regard to influences outside the school, the home, the community served and stuff like that. Why would they do something so unfair to dentists? No one would ever think of doing that to schools.

"I just shook my head sadly, but he had brightened. "I'm going to write my representatives and senators," he said. "I'll use the school analogy. Surely they will see the point."

He walked off with that look of hope mixed with fear and suppressed anger that I, a teacher, see in the mirror so often lately.

forwarded by others from somewhere out in cyberspace

Interpreting the Governor's Press Release

Most of you by now will have seen the glowing press release talking about the state paying back the money it "owes" to schools.

What does it really mean?

It just means they sent the money to us in July instead of September. Better late than never, and better on time than late.

That's all it does. Nothing more...nothing less...spin doctoring and press releases notwithstanding.

Article here.

Indiana tops US list for terrorist targets?

Say what?

Evidently Indiana leads the nation with over 8,000 sites listed as potential terrorist targets in a national data base kept by the Department for Homeland Insecurity.

Our favorite target listed is Amish Country Popcorn. Total employees - five.

Article here.

I know what really happened. The feds called Mitch up and asked him to make a list of Targets. Mitch said, "We don't have that many Target stores in Indiana but I can make a list of smaller outlets that will go out of business after Wally Mart is done taking over the world. "

To which the secretary to the undersecretary who was filling in for the Gal Friday (who was out ill) replied to Mitch, "Sure, like whatever, just have your list here by Friday."

Presto, Indiana now leads the nation in terrorists targets in the top secret world of The Department of Homeland Insecurity.

Everyone feel safer now? :-)

School Board Meeting Update

At last night's board meeting, the board:

*Accepted a $500 donation to Syracuse Elementary from the Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce for the Taste of Home Cooking show
*Accepted a donation of 2 new computers and software to the Wawasee Auto Program from Alan Teehan
*Honored 2006 retiring teachers
*Approved claims, minutes of previous meetings, personnel items, single purchase extra-curricular items over $500 as per law, and renewal of the North Webster Head Start Lease
*Heard a report on the year-end athletic financial report
*Approved financial report
*Heard second reading on Student Wellness Policy
*Approved Joy Swartzentruber as 401(a) trustee
*Heard a report from the Superintendent on the Warrior Open Golf Outing
*Heard a report from the Director of Curriculum on the summer writing workshops
*Reviewed the upcoming budget meeting schedules

Schools Pull Rank

Evidently a number of school districts around the country are eliminating the system of class rankings over the vicious competition that takes place for the top spots.

TIME magazine article here.

Warrior Open Success

Wawasee Athletic Department held the 12th Annual Warrior Open at Maxwelton Golf Course on July 10th. Fifty-nine teams and two hundred thirty-six golfers participated in this fundraising event. Community members, local businesses and friends of the Athletic Department also participated by sponsoring Tee and Green signs, sponsoring the luncheon or donating gifts for the raffle. Wawasee Athletic Director Mary Hurley stated, “We enjoyed a wonderful day at Maxwelton Golf Course. Obviously, the real winners in the event were the athletes that wear the green and gold of Wawasee. Wawasee schools enjoy tremendous community support and an event like the Warrior Open is certainly a great community activity with all the support. On behalf of the coaches, the student athletes and the administration of Wawasee High School we extend a big thank-you to all our participants.”



Contest / event winners:

Mens’ AM Team Champions: Dennis Hively, Jeremy Malick, Jerry Celvenger, Jim Ziebarth

Mens’ AM Runners-up: Phil Dick, Rich Dick, Matt Dick, Mike Grill

Womens’ AM Team Champions: Joy Swartzentruber, Ann Seward, Janet Lant, Judy Osha

Mixed AM Champions: Steve Coverstone, Elena Duncan, Denny Duncan, Brian Dawes

Mens’ PM Team Champions: Bob Miller, Jason Miller, Rick Morris, Dave Schumakur

Mens’ PM Runners-up: Randy Pearson, Rick McKibbin, Buddy Overholser, Brent Warren

Women’s PM Team Champions: Tammy Melendez, Heather Fianot, Shelly Rogers, Becky Moore

Mixed PM Team Champions: Dave O’Connor, Dave K. O’Connor, Mike O’Connor, Linda O’Connor


Overall Winner for the Day: Bob Miller, Jason Miller, Rick Morris, Dave Schumakur (-16)

Putting Contest: Steve Plummer
50/50 contest closest 2nd shot on #9: Jay Garr
Closest to the Pin # 3: Dennis Hively
Closest to the Pin # 8: Brent Warren
Closest to the Pin # 13: Dennis Hively
Longest Putt # 18: Don Strouse
Longest Drive Mens’ # 16: Jay Garr
Longest Drive Senior Mens’ # 6: Jack Zimmerman
Longest Drive Senior Womens’ #14: Ann Seward
Longest Drive Womens’ #4: Kristi Harkenrider

Friday's Funnies

If you added up all of the time spent on non-teaching activities, and separated the time spent on each into eight-hour days, you would find that over a thirty-year teaching career you would have spent:

-- Five months telling students to get to work
-- Fifty--six days telling students to sit down
-- Eleven days waiting for a student to finish sharpening a pencil
-- Five months taking attendance
-- Almost two years sitting in meetings
-- Eleven days waking sleeping students
-- Twenty--two days rearranging the desks
-- Nine days saying "no"
-- A month passing out papers
-- Three weeks collecting papers
-- Four weeks listening to morning announcements
-- Two weeks reminding students that the period is not over yet
-- Two months redirecting inappropriate student behavior
-- Six months reading memos, completing surveys, and doing other paperwork
-- Twenty days writing hall passes
-- Seven months wondering what happened to the students with the hall passes

Whoops -maybe reminding you of that wasn't so funny!

Have a great weekend!

Warrior Open Golf Outing

The annual Wawasee Athletic Department fundraiser will be held on Monday, July 10, 2006 at the Maxwelton Golf Course in Syracuse. The raindate will be July 17.

Florida Scramble Format * Contests, Prizes and Raffles
Register a Foursome or an Individual Golfer
$60 Entry Fee per person / Covers Green Fees, Cart and Meal
Raffle and Contest package - $25 per person

Call the high school at 457-3147 and ask for the athletic department and ask how you can be an athletic supporter. :-)

Syracuse to open home for women with addictions

Kosciusko county women battling drug addictions may soon have an area shelter and program for overcoming their addictions.

The home formerly used by Lifeline, a local after school program for at-risk youth, has been donated to the Rose Home, modeled after the drug program and women's shelter in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Article here.

Have a safe and happy 4th!

More on Graduate Students

All you former and current graduate students can relate to this.

Graduate students, especially those who work AND go to grad school will readily admit that it is very hard to do without support and understanding from the family, both spouses and children. Even your friends get tired of the excuse, "No, I can't come over and watch the show tonight, I have a paper due in the morning and 3 chapters left to read before morning."

However, sometimes their help and support comes in the form of holding us accountable.

My favorite story comes from my son when he was in the third grade. One Sunday evening he was playing computer games and I started nagging him about homework. "Do you have your homework done?"

He never looked up from the computer. He just replied, "Have you got your dissertation done?" Now, I knew he didn't know exactly what a dissertation was, but he did know that I had a huge homework assignment that I wasn't working on.

Racked with guilt, since I hadn't touched it for weeks, I put the newspaper down, slinked over to the desk, opened up the laptop and three-ring binders and started in. I never said a word to him about his homework.

But, I noticed about 15 minutes later he had all his papers out on the table and was working quietly on his work.

Sometimes accountability is a mutual task.

Friday's Funnies

I dedicate this post to all those teachers who have dedicated themselves to continuing their education at the graduate level and also to the spouses and family members who tolerate them during this time!

You just might be a graduate student if...

you are startled to meet people who neither need nor want to read.
you rate coffee shops by the availability of outlets for your laptop.
everything reminds you of something in your discipline.
you have ever discussed academic matters at a sporting event.
you have ever spent more than $50 on photocopying while researching a single paper.
there is a microfilm reader in the library that you consider "yours."
you actually have a preference between microfilm and microfiche.
you can tell the time of day by looking at the traffic flow at the library.
you look forward to summers because you're more productive without the distraction of classes. you regard ibuprofen as a vitamin.
you consider all papers to be works in progress.
professors don't really care when you turn in work anymore.
you find the bibliographies of books more interesting than the actual text.
you have given up trying to keep your books organized and are now just trying to keep them all in the same general area.
you have accepted guilt as an inherent feature of relaxation.
you reflexively start analyzing those greek letters before you realize that it's a sorority sweatshirt, not an equation.
you find yourself explaining to children that you are in "20th grade".
you start refering to stories like "Snow White et al."
you frequently wonder how long you can live on pasta without getting scurvy
you look forward to taking some time off to do laundry
you have more photocopy cards than credit cards
you wonder if APA style allows you to cite talking to yourself as "personal communication"

Have a safe and happy 4th!